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Etisalat highlights key growth areas for the future at the 'Telecom Leaders Roundtable Summit'May 25, 2009 (Al-Bawaba via COMTEX) -- Etisalat highlights key growth areas for the future at the 'Telecom Leaders Roundtable Summit' Addressing a power packed audience at the 'Telecom Leaders Roundtable Summit', on the opening day of the Middle East Communications (MECOM) conference and exhibition, Mr. Khalifa Al Shamsi, VP Consumer Marketing at Etisalat, highlighted the key challenges faced by the global telecom industry and the focus areas for Etisalat in the coming year. In his discussion, Al Shamsi talked about Etisalat's initiatives to bring the latest technology and services to the UAE to enhance the country's telecom infrastructure. In this context, he mentioned that Abu Dhabi will be the first capital city in the world to be fully connected by FTTH (Fibre to the Home) within the next few months. Etisalat will migrate 712,000 customers in 2009 onto its FTTH network with plans to connect the entire country by end of 2011. Talking about FTTH, Al Shamsi said," FTTH technology will bring about a paradigm shift in the communication sector, taking it to unprecedented levels. With its high-speed Internet offering speeds up to 100 Mbps, this technology will boost adoption of new age internet services like IPTV, Video On Demand , and online gaming, creating future smart homes. The platform will also widen the current internet gamut by opening unconventional yet significant internet avenues, in areas like e-education, online health checks ups with three-dimensional view (voice, picture and data), video conferencing, and remote infrastructure management." During the conference, Al Shamsi also announced Etisalat's plans of launching the new Digital Home experience, which will connect a diverse range of household devices which include wireless photo frames, Internet radio, HD screens, web cams, gaming consoles, HD media players & handsets. The technology will enable customers to access, create and share digital content in, around and outside their homes. Service convergence is expected to include traditional communication and broadcasting services with provision of Internet, Music, Video-On-Demand (VoD) and online gaming in a multi-service high-speed network. From a customer convenience perspective, Al Shamsi also highlighted mCommerce as a critical element in its strategy. Etisalat is currently working on commercializing a Mobile Money Transfer service which incorporates a Mobile Wallet functionality. This service has a very high potential because of the presence of a large expat population who send significant amount of remittances to their home countries. Another priority for Etisalat is the mParking initiative which was launched recently with the RTA (Roads & Transport Authority) in Dubai in the first week of May. Etisalat has also been focusing on delivering Managed Services to help companies focus on their core business needs and reduce total cost of IT ownership. This is a critical requirement for businesses given the current challenging economic environment. Etisalat's current portfolio of services like Managed WAN &Managed services will be complemented with additional services during the year so that customers have greater choices when handing over their non core IT infrastructure to Etisalat . Mr. Al Shamsi also gave the audience an insight into the latest initiatives being undertaken by Etisalat to boost the adoption of mobile broadband in the UAE. Etisalat recently announced spectacular new Wasel and postpaid mobile internet and broadband packages offering more than 100% extra bandwidth at significantly reduced costs. Customised for the Mobile internet users (including iPhone users) and the Mobile broadband users, these packages aim to provide convenient and flexible Internet access, anytime, anywhere to the user, as per their requirements. Etisalat has been supporting the cause of advancing mobile broadband penetration in the UAE, by providing 3G coverage to the 99% of the populated areas of the UAE. "From Etisalat's perspective, broadband is far more than high-speed networking. It is the ability to provide customers a set of innovative choices to connect several technology devices, as per their requirements, integrated into a bundle. Broadband will enable customers to access, create and share digital content in, around and outside their homes. Broadband will eventually lead to convergence in consumer and business segments, enabling convenience, flexibility and customer satisfaction", he added. (C) 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) |