DU PREPARES UP FOR VOIP SERVICES FROM UAE

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the UAE telecom operator known as du, said yesterday that it is building a base to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services but has not yet zeroed in on a partner.

The company said net profit before royalty for the first quarter of this year more than quadrupled to Dh194 million, compared to Dh47 million in the first quarter of 2009. Revenue for the period was Dh1.58 billion, a 36 per cent increase over the same period last year and 3 per cent more than the fourth quarter.

"We are very pleased with the results. It shows our continued growth," said Osman Sultan, du's Chief Executive Officer, during a conference call yesterday. "It's a growth that has translated into a record revenue for us," he said.

An increase in the number of subscribers has been the main driver behind the record revenues, Sultan said. The number of active mobile subscribers increased by 262,000 in the first quarter, bringing the total active mobile subscriber base to more than 3.7 million.

Proposition

Du is currently "building a VoIP proposition", but hasn't decided on a partner yet, Sultan said. VoIP telephony allows users to make phone and video calls and send text messages using the internet at costs significantly lower than those charged by traditional network operators. Etisalat recently slashed international call costs to Dh0.50 per minute on landlines.

"We are now exploring different routes," Sultan said. "We will be announcing this year a value proposition for the enterprise and residence markets," Sultan said.

The extraordinary general assembly of shareholders agreed to the proposal to increase the company's capital to Dh4.57 billion by selling 571,428,571 new shares on a rights basis for Dh1.75 each.

The rights shares will be priced at 33 per cent discount to Monday's closing price (Dh2.55) on the Dubai Financial Market and at 38 per cent discount compared the price before the rights issue announcement last month, Sultan said.

The proceeds of the issue, about Dh1 billion, will be used to increase the company's capital in order to position it for future growth.

Capital structure

"This Dh1 billion that the company will be collecting is not needed for deadlines. I think we need to plan for a three- to four-year road map. We need to have a better capital structure," he said.

"The company has the highest growth among all telecom operators in this region and we anticipate remaining on the high end for 2010."

Asked about potential expansion plans outside the UAE, Sultan said there were "no intentions for any acquisition or any plans to go outside the UAE". The company's primary focus is to grow further in the country, he said

Etisalat slashes international call rates to 50 fils per minute

In a move to offer the best international calling rates to landline customers, Etisalat has slashed the International Direct Dialing (IDD) rates to 50 fils per minute from May 10 till August 9, 2010.

All UAE landline users can call anywhere in the world, anytime, at just 50 fils per minute during this period, Etisalat said in a statement.

The offer is applicable for all landline users in the UAE, benefiting both, e-Life as well as non-Etisalat landline users. Users, who do not have an Etisalat landline connection, can also benefit from the reduced rates through the Etisalat Select Service that is offered free of charge; the user only pays for usage.

Available in two customised packages, the promotion offers additional flexibility to the customers to choose the most appropriate package as per their requirements.

First offer: Customers can benefit from the best international calling rates of 50 fils per minute (all day), for one selected country of their choice for a flat fee of AED 20 per month. Customers can call 125 to select their preferred country and enjoy the discounted rates. Rates of all other local and international calls will remain unchanged.

Second offer: Besides reduced call rates of 50 fils per minute for a selected country, subscribers to this offer have an option to pay a connection charge of Dh1 per international call to the selected country, rather than the flat fee of Dh20 per month. Hence, customers in this plan can choose to 'pay-as-used', rather than paying a monthly fee of Dh20. Rates of all other local and international calls will remain unchanged.

Customers also have an option to switch from one offer to another, based on their utility. Customers can subscribe to this promotion by dialing 125, or by visiting any Etisalat business center or outlet in shopping malls throughout the country. Etisalat mobile customers can subscribe to Etisalat Select service by sending an SMS "ES" to "1010". For all other mobile users, they can call 800-101 and request the service.

Subscribers of special IDD tariff plans such as "Super off Peak", "Favorite Country", and "Friends & Family" can also benefit from this promotion by subscribing to the above mentioned offers. The IDD tariff plans will be put on hold during the promotion period, and customers would automatically be reverted to their original plans after the promotion.