• Home
• /
• Local business

Etisalat Eyes Six MENA
Countries for Acquisitions

Arab world’s second largest telecommunication company’s chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran indicated six possible markets which would involve both the acquisition of green-field licenses within markets with low penetration levels and industry consolidation, stressing that size and scale are extremely important to avoid small operators being marginalised.

Speaking at a session on Strategies for Growth: Mergers and Acquisitions at The Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, the chairman said: “Etisalat is in an ‘excellent’ position – financially and operationally to capitalise on these opportunities.” He said Etisalat was committed to investing in new technologies across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Reiterating Etisalat’s commitment to developing telecom markets where it operates, Omran said “We do not acquire licenses in markets with the aim of selling these operations in a few years time. Instead, we actively invest in new technologies and infrastructure to derive incremental gains over the life of our license for investors and customers alike.”

Broadband and fiber-optic fixed-line infrastructure is a clear example of such an investment.

Etisalat has deployed fiber-optic networks in Sudan and also in the UAE to great effect and will shortly begin offering GPON connectivity to the home with a capacity of 10Gbps shared between 32 residences –a 400 per cent increase to what is currently 
on offer today.

Arab World’s second largest telecom also announced that it has started the commercial trial of LTE, an important step towards 4G. “The expected date for launching LTE services in UAE is by the end of 2010, “he said.

Later in the first half of this year, Etisalat will be introducing new technology which will enable downloads of up to 42mbps, which will grow to 84mbps by end of year.

Chairman Mohammad Omran affirmed that telecommunication sector has many positive aspects to look out for in 2010 and beyond. He highlighted that technology is continuously changing day-to-day due, primarily, to consumers’ needs of voice and data services and new innovations which open new possibilities.

Omran highlighted Etisalat’s role and experience in providing the latest technology which helps drive economic growth in the future.

The UAE is ranked in the top 10 amongst all nations in terms of technology availability and government readiness to adopt ICT solutions quoting the WEF annual Global IT Report 2008-09 and Global Competitiveness Report 2009-10.

Mohammad Hasan Omran also spotlighted his company’s commitment to environmental initiatives.

“Etisalat has successfully combined the welfare of the environment and advanced technology by investing in fiber optic networks can enhance the energy efficiency of our networks and reduce our carbon emissions. We are also implementing ‘green building’ policies to reduce operating costs.”

haseeb@khaleejtimes.com