Etisalat by e&

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Emirates Telecommunication Corporation - Etisalat
Company typePublic
FoundedUnited Arab Emirates Government
Headquarters
Abu Dhabi
,

 United Arab Emirates
Key people
Mohammed Hassan Omran Chairman
Mohammed Al Qamzi CEO
RevenueIncrease $8.4 billion (FY 2009)

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, branded trade name Etisalat (Arabic: إتصالات Etīsalat, literally Communications) is a UAE-based telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Emirates Telecommunications Corporation is its legal name. As of November 2009, Etisalat is the 13th largest mobile network operator in the world, with a total customer base of 100 million.[1]

On January 31, 2010, Etisalat reported net revenue of USD $8.4 billion (AED 30.831 billion) and net profits of USD $2.407 billion (AED 8.836 billion).[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.

History

Emirates Telecommunication Corporation - Etisalat was founded in 1976 as a joint-stock company between International Aeradio Limited, a British Company, and local partners. In 1983 the ownership structure changed - United Arab Emirates government held a 60% share in the company and the remaining 40% were publicly traded.

In 1991 the UAE central government issued Federal Law No. 1, which gave the corporation the right to provide the telecommunications wired and wireless services in the country and between UAE and other countries. It also gave the firm the right to issue licenses for owning, importing, manufacturing, using or operating telecommunication equipment. This practically gave Etisalat both regulatory and control powers, which completed the monopoly of the telecom giant in the UAE. In order to safeguard the country's economic development, the law made provisions for the development of the telecommunication sector in the country.

The increase of exchange lines from 36,000 in 1976 to more than 737,000 in 1998 was one of the important indicators of Etisalat network's growth and development. The company witnessed profit growth rates of 80%[6].

An important milestone was Etisalat's commencement of international operations in January 2001, when under the brand name of Ufone it started operating out of Islamabad.[7].

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.

Etisalat has also won accolades from across the region for its nationalization programme[8].

Business Units

File:EtisalatAbuDhabi.jpg
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) whose headed by the Indian HR head Recruitment operations that support the telecom's operations and offer services to other operators and organizations, namely: training and consultancy services(Etisalat Academy[9]), SIM/smart card manufacturing and payment solutions (Ebtikar[10]), data clearing house services (EDCH[11]), peering/voice and data transit (Emirates Internet Exchange - EMIX[12]), call center (The Contact Centre[13]),cable TV (eVision[14]), as well as submarine cable laying services (eMarine[15]).

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.[16] 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 with huge success stories .

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, Sri Lanka 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).

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.

PTCL - Pakistan

Among the acquisitions of Etisalat in 2005 was a 26% management stake in Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL) 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 Telecommunications 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.[17]

Etisalat Egypt

In July 2006, a consortium led by Etisalat was granted the rights to develop Egypt's third mobile network, with a winning bid of 16.7 billion Egyptian pounds (EUR €2.29 billion euro).[18] The venture, Etisalat Egypt, competes with existing service providers Vodafone and Mobinil. On September 12, 2006, it was announced that the network would be built by Ericsson of Sweden, and Huawei of China, at a cost of approximately USD $1.2 billion.[19]

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.[20]

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).[21]

Canar was launched on November 27, 2005[22]. 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.[23]

EMTS - Nigeria

Etisalat signed an agreement to acquire 40% of and manage Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services, Nigeria’s fifth GSM operator.[24] It is now operating with about 5 million Subscribers, and recently signed an agreement with Main One cable company to launch one of the first major broadband service in Nigeria.

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.[21]

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 [25] Mobile Banking).

Atlantique Telecom/Moov - West Africa

In Africa, Etisalat acquired 50% of Atlantique Telecom’s shares in April 2005. 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.[21]

  • Ivory Coast:[26] 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.[27] In February 2008,[28] 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.

XL Axiata - Indonesia

Indonesia-based mobile services operator PT XL Axiata (formerly 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 XL had 15 million mobile subscribers.[21]

Etisalat - Afghanistan

Etisalat Afghanistan is a newly established GSM operator, 100% owned by Etisalat.[29] It was established in May 2006 after the UAE telecom won the license to operate the fourth mobile services provider in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Etisalat's bid for the license was USD $1.2 billion (AED 4.4 billion) and services were launched in August 2007.[21] Etisalat Afghanistan's headquarters are in Kabul. Etisalat Afghanistan has achieved 24 per cent market share in 27 provinces of Afghanistan, the company said in a press release on March 3, 2010.[30]

Etisalat - Iran (Canceled)

In January 2009 Etisalat in consortium with Tamin Telecom (a subsidiary of the Iranian Social Security Organization (SSO)) won the bid for running the third mobile services operator in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[31] The license included an exclusive two-year agreement for 3G services provisioning, but in Sep 2009 the licence was revoked and given to its local partner, Tamin Telecom. [. Etisalat had planned to invest over $5 billion (AED 18.39 billion) over a period of five years[32], but following the license suspension all plans for launching operation in Iran have been put on hold. CRA (Telecom regulatory of Iran) has recently announced that the 3rd license has not granted to anyone yet.

Etisalat - Sri Lanka

Etisalt acquired the Sri Lankan Operation of Millicom International Cellular (MIC), Tigo (Sri Lanka) on 16 October 2009. The acquisition was completed with a total enterprise value of 207 Million US$, out of which 155 Million US$ was in cash.[33]

Tigo (Sri Lanka) under the then brand name CELLTEL started operations in June 1989 on a Motorola TACS system and was the first cellular operator in Sri Lanka as well as South Asia. In January 2007, Millicom replaced the local CELLTEL brand with Tigo, their international brand. In February 2010, Tigo was rebranded as Etisalat.

It competes with international operators like Dialog Telekom (Telekom Malaysia), Mobitel (Sri Lanka Telecom), Hutch (Hutchison) and Airtel (Bharti Airtel), using technologies GSM/EDGE and hopes to launch UMTS/HSDPA services over 900/1800 and 2100 MHz in 2010.

Etisalat - India

In 2009 Etisalat has announced that its Indian unit, headquartered in Mumbai, is renamed to Etisalat DB Telecom India Pvt. Ltd Telecom Renamed Etisalat Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. The business unit has been awarded Unified Services Access License in 15 circles - Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

In April 2010 Etisalat began signal testing in Chennai [IND 922], Delhi & NCR [IND 913], Maharashtra & Goa [IND 919], Mumbai [IND 916] and Gujarat[IND 914].

In January 2010 Etisalat had signed a Rs. 350 million endorsement contract with Bollywood actor Aamir Khan - the largest endorsement deal taking place on the Indian advertising market [34].

In May 2010, Etisalat was in talks to buy 25% stake in Reliance Communications[35], but the deal was not finalised.

Etisalat UAE

Etisalat UAE is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and includes three regional offices - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Northern Emirates.

Abu Dhabi Region

Key positions:

  • General Manager:
  • Deputy General Manager: Sultan Al Dhaheri
  • Senior Vice President Engineering: Jamal Al Suwaidi
  • Senior Vice President Marketing : Khalifa Al Forah Al Shamsi
  • Vice President HR & Administration: Abdulla Al Marzouqi
  • Vice President Consumer Sales & SMB: Suhail Al Awadhi
  • Vice President Finance: Sohail Ausaf

Dubai Region

Key positions:

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

The Northern Emirates regional center is based in Sharjah and covers the telecom's operations in the emirates of Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.

Key positions:

  • Vice President - HR & Administration: Jameela Al Awai
  • Vice President - Consumer Sales & SMB: Mohammed Abdulla
  • Vice President - Finance:

Internet Services

The number of Etisalat's Internet subscribers reportedly stands at 1.02 million.[36]

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 10/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.

Internet Censorship

File:Block etisalat 3.jpg
Page Blocked Notice

Etisalat operates an Internet content filtering system that blocks access to web resources. The web resources 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 is mandated by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab Emirates.

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 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, such as using Tor.

Criticism

Etisalat has been continuously been criticized about its services. Some of the issues include:

  • Pricing. As the incumbent telecom services operator, Etisalat is a virtual monopoly and reluctant to reduce service prices in line with international trends. Since the entrance of a second telecommunications services provider du, customers hoped to see a substantial reduction of charges.[citation needed] The market regulator, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), curbed price wars between the two telecoms, and allowed certain promotional and discount programs. These have led to some cost reductions, however, no major price reductions have proceeded.
  • PTCL, Pakistan Telecommunication Company. After winning the bid for a stake at PTCL (reportedly overpaying by as much as USD $500 million), Etisalat delayed its payment and managed to renegotiate substantial parts of its stake contract.[41] Critics 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.[42]
  • Internet censorship. The precision of the automatic content filter is not precise, often 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 web resources, which makes the identification of users in cases of vandalism or malicious activity difficult. Legitimate Internet users have been reportedly[citation needed] banned from websites and servers due to other users' disruptive online behavior.
  • Blocking Voice over IP communication services that offer international telephony.

BlackBerry controversy

In July 2009, Etisalat pushed an update to BlackBerry devices operating on the telecom's national network, citing performance improvements. However, it was later discovered [43] that the update contained eavesdropping software, developed by the US-based software development company SS8, which specializes in electronic surveillance. It is reported that the software enabled the company to monitor and forward communications on BlackBerry devices to their servers.[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]

Research in Motion, Blackberry's parent company, acknowledged[52] that the patch was a form of spyware, and issued a removal patch on July 20.

On December 27, 2009, Etisalat and the rival network Du agreed to block a number of websites for all Blackberry users.[53]

On 1st of August 2010, the Telecommunication Regularity Authority of the UAE instructed Etisalat & Du that all Blackberry Email, Internet and Messenger functions must be suspended on the 1st October 2010 [54]

References

  1. ^ http://gulfnews.com/business/general/etisalat-tops-100m-subscribers-1.583787
  2. ^ "Etisalat Announces AED 8,836m Net Profits in 2009 An Increase of 16% Over 2008". etisalat.ae. Etisalat. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  3. ^ BGP Routing Looking Glass for Etisalat's AS
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ www.angelfire.com/in3/memory/projects/etisalat.doc
  7. ^ "Ufone Quickly Deploys a GSM Network Covering 1500-Cities in Pakistan" (PDF). huawei.com. Huawei. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Corporate Profile". etisalat.ae. Etisalat. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  9. ^ [3]
  10. ^ [4]
  11. ^ [5]
  12. ^ [6]
  13. ^ The Contact Centre
  14. ^ e-Vision website
  15. ^ [7]
  16. ^ Etisalat continues streamlining of operations, restructuring
  17. ^ UAE firm in Pakistan phone sale
  18. ^ bt - Full Story
  19. ^ China's Huawei, Sweden's Ericsson to build Egypt's 3rd mobile network - report - Forbes.com
  20. ^ [8]
  21. ^ a b c d e [9]
  22. ^ [10]
  23. ^ [11]
  24. ^ etisalat.com.ng
  25. ^ [12]
  26. ^ http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINL0386150620080603?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) [dead link]
  27. ^ [13]
  28. ^ [14]
  29. ^ [15]
  30. ^ Etisalat acquires 24% of market in Afghanistan
  31. ^ Etisalat officially secures third mobile license in Iran
  32. ^ http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Telecom/10312885.html
  33. ^ Millicom International Cellular: Completion of Sale of Millicom`s Sri Lanka Operation
  34. ^ Aamir Khan bags biggest endorsement deal with Etisalat
  35. ^ [16]
  36. ^ [17]
  37. ^ [18]
  38. ^ "eLife - Double Play". etisalat. Etisalat. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  39. ^ [19]
  40. ^ [20]
  41. ^ DAWN News - Transfer of PTCL to Etisalat in two weeks
  42. ^ Business Intelligence Middle East - Etisalat team to tackle Pakistan acquisition
  43. ^ Abbas Al Lawati (2009-07-13). "'Interceptor' behind BlackBerry issues". Gulf News.
  44. ^ Engadget Mobile - BlackBerry update in UAE reportedly surveillance software in disguise
  45. ^ ArabianBusiness.com - Etisalat accused in surveillance patch fiasco
  46. ^ BBC.co.uk - UAE Blackberry update was spyware
  47. ^ The Register - BlackBerry update bursting with spyware - Official snooping suspected in UAE
  48. ^ The Register - RIM fights BlackBerry snoop gaffe - Denies involvement in half-baked Etisalat scheme
  49. ^ Chirashi Security - Analyzing the SS8 Interceptor Application for the BlackBerry Handheld PDF
  50. ^ BlackBerryCool.com - RIM responds officially to Etisalat spyware found in update
  51. ^ RIM Customer Statement Regarding Etisalat / SS8 Software (PDF)
  52. ^ Abbas Al Lawati (2009-07-21). "Etisalat's BlackBerry update intercepts communication, says RIM". Gulf News.
  53. ^ http://gulfnews.com/business/telecoms/internet-access-restrictions-for-blackberry-users-1.558448
  54. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/02/rim_uae/

External links

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