Etisalat

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Emirates Telecommunication Corporation - Etisalat
Type Public
Founded United Arab Emirates Government
Headquarters Abu Dhabi,
 United Arab Emirates
Key people Mohammed Hassan Omran Chairman,
Revenue ▲ $5,815 million (FY 2007-08)

Etisalat is a UAE-based telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 17 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The telecom's customer base is claimed to reach 74 million customers, with a total operating area population span close to 1.6 billion people.[1]

On October 18, 2008, Etisalat reported net revenue of USD $5.204 billion (AED 19.1 billion) and net profits of USD $1.989 billion (AED 19.1bn).[2]

Etisalat is one of the Internet hubs in the Middle East (AS8966), providing connectivity to other telecommunications operators in the region[3]. It is also the largest carrier of international voice traffic in the Middle East and Africa and the 12th largest voice carrier in the world.[4] As of October 2008, Etisalat has 510 roaming agreements covering 186 countries and enabling BlackBerry, 3G, GPRS and voice roaming.[5] Etisalat operates Points of Presence (PoP) in New York, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore.

Contents

[edit] Regions

Etisalat UAE is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and it inclues three regional offices namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Northern Emirates.

Abu Dhabi Region is situated in the Capital city Abu Dhabi and it includes AlAin City .

Key positions:

  • General Manager: Mr. Jamal Al Nuaimi
  • Deputy General Manager: Mr. Sultan Al Dhaheri
  • Senior Vice President Engineering: Mr. Jamal Al Suwaidi
  • Vice President HR & Administration: Mr. Abdulla Al Marzouqi
  • Vice President Consumer Sales & SMB: Mr. Suhail Al Awadhi
  • Vice President Finance: Mr. Sohail Ausaf

Dubai Region is situated in the Merchants city of Dubai.

Key positions:

  • General Manager: Mr. Abdulla Al Mana
  • Deputy General Manager: Mr. Ghanim Al Marri
  • Senior Vice President Engineering: Mr. Omar Al Hashemi
  • Vice President HR & Administration: Mr. Ahmad Al-Doobi
  • Vice President Consumer Sales & SMB: Mr. Mustafa Al Sharif
  • Vice President Finance: Mr. Obaid Al Sharid
  • Quality Manager: Mr. Arif BelGaizi

Northern Emirates is situated in the city of Sharjah. It includes Ajman, Umm Al Qawain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah emirates.

Key positions:

  • General Manager: Mr. Abdulaziz Taryam
  • Senior Vice President Engineering: Mr.
  • Vice President HR & Administration: Mr. Jameela Al Awai
  • Vice President Consumer Sales & SMB: Mr. Mohammed Abdulla
  • Vice President Finance: Ms. Lamya Mohamed Sharif

[edit] History

Emirates Telecommunication Corporation was established in 1976. It was owned by sharing between international Aeradio Limited, a British Company and local partners. In 1983 Etisalat was fully owned by the United Arab Emirates government (60%) and U.A.E citizens (40 %). This combination between public and private sector made the organization moved quickly toward the modern countries in telecommunication fields.

In 1991 the government issued law number (1), which gave the corporation the right to provide the telecommunication wire and wireless services in the country and between UAE and other countries. It also gave the firm right to issue the licenses to own or import or manufacture or use or operate telecommunication equipment. The laws also provide for developing and renewing the telecommunication fields and data services.

The corporation has continued developing telecommunication network in U.A.E and between the U.A.E and the other countries. The organization started entering high technology to expand its network over market growth to provide high speed and quality of services in all telecommunication fields and data services. Etisalat has some important achievements and here area some of them.

The increase of Exchange lines from 36,000 in 1976 to more than 737,000 1998. The profit was DH 90.000,000 The annual growth rate of that was 80 % per the above dates[6].

In January 2001, Etisalat commenced its operations under the brand name of Ufone from Islamabad on January 29 2001. Ufone expanded its coverage and has added new cities and highways to its coverage network. After the privatization of PTCL, Ufone is now owned by Etisalat[7].

In July 2004 Etisalat made the highest bid to become Saudi Arabia’s second mobile phone operator yesterday, putting it on course to win the coveted license. [8]

In July 2006, Etisalat paid US$2.9 billion (Dh10.65bn) to acquire Egypt’s third telecommunications licence. [9]

In December 2007, Etisalat will buy 1.13 billion shares in Indonesia's third-largest telecoms firm from Rajawali Group.[10]

Today Etisalat stands 140th among the Financial Times Top 500 Corporations in the world in terms of market capitalization, and is ranked by The Middle East magazine as the 6th largest company in the Middle East in terms of capitalization and revenues. The Corporation is the largest contributor outside the oil sector to development programmes of the UAE Federal Government, and is an award-winning socially responsible corporation. Etisalat has also won accolades from across the region for its nationalization programme[11].

[edit] Business Units

Etisalat Building in Abu Dhabi, UAE

In addition to its telecommunication services provider and carrier unit, Etisalat incorporates multiple business units (under the umbrella of Etisalat Services Holding LLC) that support the telecom's operations and offer services to other operators and organizations, namely: training and consultancy services(Etisalat Academy[12]), SIM/smart card manufacturing and payment solutions (Ebtikar[13]), data clearing house services (EDCH[14]), peering/voice and data transit (Emirates Internet Exchange - EMIX[15]), call center (The Contact Centre[16]),cable TV (eVision[17]), as well as submarine cable laying services (eMarine[18]).

Etisalat is a major investor in Thuraya, a satellite geo-mobile communication systems provider.

In 2006 Etisalat started a major restructuring program that resulted in the de-merger of many of its non-core business units that were operating under a centralized and direct management; core services were consolidated and streamlined, reflecting the company's shift from a technology-driven telecom to a customer-focused services provider.[19] As part of the program, Etisalat has launched a re-branding campaign, releasing a new corporate logo and identity in May 2006. The restructuring culminated in the incorporation of Etisalat Services Holding LLC, which as of 2008 oversees the operation of Etisalat's non-telecom business units.

[edit] Etisalat International Investments

Etisalat International Investments is the business unit of Etisalat that operates outside the UAE and manages the corporation's stakes in telecommunications carriers in Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Ivory Coast, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Pakistan.

The International Investments unit also manages Etisalat's minor stakes in other telecommunications services providers, such as Sudatel (a mobile, fixed and Internet services provider in Sudan), and Qtel (Qatar-based telecommunications services provider).

[edit] Mobily - Saudi Arabia

One of Etisalat's first international investments was the bid to become the second mobile services operator in Saudi Arabia. Etihad Etisalat, a consortium led by Etisalat, has won the 2G GSM license by offering USD $3.25 billion. Currently operating under the brand name Mobily, Etihad Etisalat offers Saudi Arabia subscribers conventional and 3.5G mobile telephony services, and has floated shares on the Saudi stock market.

[edit] PTCL - Pakistan

Among the acquisitions of Etisalat in 2005 was a 26% management stake in Pakistan Telecommunications (PCTL) that was put on sale by the government of Pakistan as part of a large privatization initiative. In order to outbid competitors (which included Singapore Telecoms and China Mobile), Etisalat offered USD $2.56 billion for the stake. According to some analysts, the telecom has overpaid, as the bid went far beyond the estimated USD $2 billion value of the package.[20]

[edit] Etisalat Misr - Egypt

In July 2006, a consortium led by Etisalat has been granted the rights to develop Egypt's third mobile network, with a winning bid of 16.7 billion Egyptian pound (EUR €2.29 billion euro).[21] The new venture, Etisalat Egypt, will compete with existing service providers Vodafone and Mobinil. On September 12, 2006, it was announced that the network will be built by Ericsson of Sweden, and Huawei of China, at a cost of approximately USD $1.2 billion.[22]

In 2007, at the Comms MEA Awards ceremony Etisalat was presented with the ‘Best New Entrant’ award for its Egyptian operations. Award winners were selected by a panel of experts from KPMG, the Arab Advisors Group and Oliver Wyman, Dubai.[23]

[edit] Canar - Sudan

Etisalat is one of the founding partner companies of Canar Telecom, a fixed-line telecom services operator. In September 2007 Etisalat has raised its stake in Canar from 37% to 82% at an estimated cost of AED 584.17 million (USD $159 million).[24]

Canar was launched on November 27, 2005[25]. The operator is reported to use NGN and Wireless Local Loop (WLL) technologies for its voice, data, internet and multimedia services. Canar is one of the first operators in Africa to use an NGN network core.[26]

[edit] EMTS - Nigeria

Etisalat signed an agreement to acquire 40% of and manage Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services, Nigeria’s fifth GSM operator.[24]

[edit] Zantel - Tanzania

In January 1999, Etisalat acquired a stake in Zanzibar Telecom (a Tanzania-based mobile operator) for USD $2.4 million (AED 8.8 million) and has subsequently increased the stake by 17% in July 2007.[24]

Since then, Zantel has introduced telcom services that are typical for the African region, such as mobile banking services for customers without access to banking facilities (Zpesa [27] Mobile Banking).

[edit] Atlantique Telecom/Moov - West Africa

In Africa, Etisalat acquired 50% of Atlantique Telecom’s shares. Based in the Ivory Coast, AT owns mobile operators in Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Central African Republic, Gabon and Ivory Coast. In 2007, Etisalat increased its shares in AT to 70% and again in May 2008, to 82%. AT group subscribers totaled 2.9 million at the end of 2007, which is a 107% increase from the previous year.[24]

  • Ivory Coast:[28] Moov, is currently Ivory Coast's third-largest cell-phone operator with a 1.5 million customer base. In 2008 Moov Ivory Coast introduced the first nationwide cell-phone coverage, based on Thuraya satellite access technology. It is the first time that such a service has been offered in sub-Saharan Africa, outside South Africa. It was expected that the expanded coverage introduced by the satellite service would help boost Moov's customer base and even overtake France Telecom's unit Orange as the top telecom services provider in the country.
  • Benin: Etisalat operates in Benin under the Moov brand. On 24 October 2007 the government of Benin has reassigned Telecel’s operating license to Etisalat.[29]

In February 2008,[30] His Excellency Dr. Boni Yayi, President of Benin, honoured Etisalat chairman, Mohammad Hassan Omran during a ceremony to celebrate Etisalat’s efforts in developing and promoting the telecommunications sector in Benin.

[edit] Excelcomindo - Indonesia

Indonesia-based mobile services operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama is Etisalat’s first acquisition in the Far East. In December 2007 Etisalat took a 15.97% stake after paying USD $438 million (AED 1.6 billion). At the time of the acquisition Excelomindo had 15 million mobile subscribers.[24]

[edit] Etisalat Afghanistan

Etisalat Afghanistan is a newly established GSM operator, 100% owned by Etisalat.[31] It was established in May 2006 after the UAE telecom won the license to operate the fourth mobile services provider in the country. Etisalat's bid for the license was USD $40.1 million (AED147.3 million) and services were launched in August 2007.[24]

[edit] Etisalat - Iran

In January 2009 Etisalat in consortium with Taameen Telecom (a subsidiary of the Iranian Social Security Organization (SSO)) has won the bid for running the third mobile services operator in the [Islamic Republic of Iran].[32] The license includes an exclusive two-year 3G services agreement. As of May 2009, Etisalat lost its Iran licence. The operator had planned to invest $5 billion (Dh18.39 billion) over a period of five years for infrastructure in Iran. [33]

[edit] Internet Services

The number of Etisalat's Internet subscribers reportedly stands at 1.02 million.[34]

Some of the Internet services for home users that Etisalat offers include:

Etisalat also operates iZone, a system of Wi-FI hotspots in central locations, such as shopping malls, restaurants, and sheesha cafes. iZone can be accessed by either purchasing prepaid cards (AED 15/hour, USD $4.5/hour), or if using an existing account with the operator (AED 3/hour for dial-up account holders, or AED 6/hour for broadband users).

Dial-up and ISDN Internet access services are billed by the hour, whereas the domestic and residential cable and DSL connections have a fixed monthly rate depending on speed. Other Internet links, aimed at business users, have traffic utilization plans and relatively high rates when exceeding the allocated bandwidth quota. This has caused bad publicity for Etisalat and is a major source of criticism.

[edit] Internet Censorship

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Page Blocked Notice

Etisalat operates an Internet content filtering system that blocks access to web resources that are claimed to be controversial or offensive (i.e. sexually explicit content, certain political and religious websites, anonymizers and proxies) or harmful (i.e. numeric IP addresses, known phishing or malicious websites, botnet command servers). The use of content filtering has been mandated by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab Emirates, which is the telecoms regulatory body in the country.

The type of content that is restricted by Etisalat includes:

There are claims that Etisalat breaks the rules of net neutrality by throttling peer-to-peer, gaming and other types of network traffic in order to reduce the load on its oversubscribed international links. The effect of this interference is supposedly most noticeable during weekends or periods of high network use.[citation needed]

The overall efficiency of the country-wide content filtering is unclear, as many of the technologically savvy users have discovered tools and methods to bypass the content filter.

[edit] Criticism

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Etisalat has been criticized for many reasons over the past years. Some of the issues include:

  • Pricing. As the incumbent telecom services operator, Etisalat has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the past and was reluctant to reduce service prices in line with international trends. Since the entrance of a second telecommunications services provider du, customers were hoping to see a substantial reduction of voice and data services charges. The market regulator, The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has curbed price wars between the two telecoms, and has allowed only for certain promotional and discount programs. These could lead to cost reduction, but it is not the expected dramatic reduction of telecom services prices.
  • PTCL, Pakistan Telecommunication Company. After winning the bid for a stake at PTCL (and reportedly overpaying by as much as USD $500 million), Etisalat delayed its payment and managed to renegotiate substantial parts of its stake contract.[36] Critics of the move claim that instead of paying for the stake in cash and bringing fresh capital into Pakistan, Etisalat restructured its financing scheme and funded the acquisition by internal credit, increasing Pakistan's internal debt and deepening the economic gap.[37]
  • Internet censorship. The precision of the automatic content filter is imperfect, sometimes incorrectly blocking legitimate and non-controversial web resources. Internet users have mixed feelings regarding the handling of such incidents by Etisalat's customer support service.[citation needed] The content filter often reports only a single IP address when accessing Internet resources, which makes the identification of users in cases of vandalism or malicious activity difficult. Legitimate Internet users have been reportedly banned from websites and servers due to other users' disruptive online behavior.
  • Issues with customer service levels and claims of customer care deficiencies[citation needed].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Etisalat on Course for World's Top 10
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ BGP Routing Looking Glass for Etisalat's AS
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ www.angelfire.com/in3/memory/projects/etisalat.doc
  7. ^ http://market.huawei.com/hwgg/ctia2007/download/Ufone%20Quickly%20Deploys%20a%20GSM%20Network%20Covering%201500-Cities%20in%20Pakistan%20.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=52961&d=16&m=10&y=2004&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
  9. ^ http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090411/BUSINESS/785349737/1048/rss
  10. ^ http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=202615
  11. ^ http://etisalat.ae/index.jsp?lang=en&type=channel&currentid=a79a8e621187b010VgnVCM1000000c24a8c0____&parentid=ed38800d1f52a010VgnVCM1000000a0a0a0a____
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ [5]
  14. ^ [6]
  15. ^ [7]
  16. ^ The Contact Centre
  17. ^ e-Vision website
  18. ^ [8]
  19. ^ Etisalat continues streamlining of operations, restructuring
  20. ^ UAE firm in Pakistan phone sale
  21. ^ bt - Full Story
  22. ^ China's Huawei, Sweden's Ericsson to build Egypt's 3rd mobile network - report - Forbes.com
  23. ^ [9]
  24. ^ a b c d e f [10]
  25. ^ [11]
  26. ^ [12]
  27. ^ [13]
  28. ^ [14]
  29. ^ [15]
  30. ^ [16]
  31. ^ [17]
  32. ^ Etisalat officially secures third mobile license in Iran
  33. ^ http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Telecom/10312885.html
  34. ^ [18]
  35. ^ [19]
  36. ^ DAWN News - Transfer of PTCL to Etisalat in two weeks
  37. ^ Business Intelligence Middle East - Etisalat team to tackle Pakistan acquisition
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