A major player in this public-private enterprise is Etisalat, the telecommunications giant of the UAE. The company has been providing the latest telecommunications services including fixed and mobile telephony, TV and internet to UAE since 1976. It has built up a modern telecom infrastructure and established itself as an innovative and reliable operator in the region. Ranked among the Financial Times Top 500 Corporations in the world in terms of market capitalisation, and the 6th largest company in the Middle East in terms of capitalisation and revenues, Etisalat stands tall, a compelling factor in UAE's advancement and modernisation. To this end, Etisalat at the root of the nation's vision for globalisation, is the largest contributor outside the oil sector to the UAE Federal Government's development programmes worldwide.
Etisalat’s Vision
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” said Arthur C. Clarke in his book Profiles of the Future, and with its vision of a connected world, Etisalat wants to create nothing short of magic.
As a telecommunications company, Etisalat has the power to keep people connected at all times, anywhere in the world. And that's exactly the vision of the company- to enable its customers to be unfettered by matters of distance. Etisalat envisages a world where its people will effortlessly move around the world, staying in touch with family, making new friends as they go, and developing new interests on the way. Businesses big and small, empowered by Etisalat, no longer limited by distance, are able to reach new markets. With innovative technologies, UAE is open to fresh opportunities across the globe, allowing the supply of new goods and services to everyone who wants them, further strenghthening its position as a nascent strategic power worldwide.
Etisalat’s Mission
Etisalat's mission is to extend people's reach. To this end, Etisalat is actively developing advanced networks that will enable people to develop, to learn and to grow; to enable them to reach each other, businesses to find new markets and everyone to fulfill their potential. Across the UAE, and increasingly in international markets, Etisalat's mission of enabling its customers to enjoy the latest services and technologies in telephone, TV and Internet services has largely succeeded.
Etisalat Values
Energy: Etisalat values and nurtures the energy and dynamism needed to achieve the very best in business, rendering it immensely capable of taking on future challenges and opportunities with ease.
Openness: As a company, Etisalat is welcoming, sociable and friendly to customers, suppliers and employees, communicating with precision and clarity, always honest and fair in business dealings.
Enablement: Etisalat's aim is to open up opportunities, to actively help people reach their goals, and always deliver what they say they will.
Etisalat Advantage
Apart from enabling the nation with basic telecommunication services, Etisalat also offers a range of innovative and modern services that have served to position UAE as one of the most advanced nations in terms of telecom services. With Etisalat, mobile users enjoy the benefits of superior voice and data applications like WAP, GPRS, 3.5G, MMS, Push-To-Talk, Black Berry services and others. Enterprise and individual customers on the fixed-line network have the benefit of services such as ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), Frame Relay, VSAT and ISDN. The Corporation offers fixed-line services over a Next Generation Network, and has been migrating sections of its users onto the advanced network, which will be completed by end of 2007. By establishing NGN, Etisalat will be able to offer voice, video and data over one single source, enabling true Triple- Play functionality.
Etisalat’s growth strategy
Etisalat's presence in UAE is at multiple levels, ensuring the company's lateral as well as vertical growth in the region. The various business divisions of Etisalat ensure the same. Realizing that true empowerment can happen only with education, Etisalat is engaged in providing quality education to UAE with its Etisalat Academy and the Etisalat University College. These two initiatives are designed to turn the UAE into a centre of professional training excellence. Courses held here include subjects such as IT, Business Administration, Information Security, Basic Sciences, Communication Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Computer Engineering.
EMIX is the first Network Access Point (NAP) in the Middle East. Built on multiple STM-1 circuits landing on the East and West coasts of UAE, EMIX's stateof- the-art platforms are designed for the transport of high-quality and high-speed Internet service.
EDCH was established in 1994 to provide a single point of contact for the roaming facility offered by GSM operators. Emirates Data Clearing House- EDCH is one of only five companies worldwide that offers electronic data transfer and financial services.
Ebtikar's product range includes chip-based smart cards with memory or microprocessor chips, as well as non-chip-based cards for multimedia applications. Ebtikar services the industries of telecommunications (Pay phones, GSM, Internet), health, parking and others.
Etisalat's The Customer Care Centre was established in 2000 to handle all the Corporation's non face-to-face customer interactions, both in UAE and outside. Having over 500 seats, it is the largest operation of its kind in the Middle East, and is ISO-9001 certified. Apart from Etisalat including all its divisions and subsidiaries, the Customer Care Centre also handles inbound and outbound services for companies in the private and Government sectors, both domestic and international. Services provided by the Customer Care Centre to its clients include contact handling, telesales and market research, and call centre consulting services
Etisalat’s Figures
The year 2006 was dynamic for Etisalat with success at multiple levels- internally through restructuring and corporate branding, internationally through the expansion of operations in Egypt and Afghanistan, and financially, through record levels of revenue and profit. Etisalat's revenue by the end of 2006 was AED 16.3 billion, representing a 27% growth from 2005. Mobile based revenues stood at AED 10.2 billion, a 38% increase over 2005, Internet based services - AED 1.1 billion (36% increase), Data services - AED 1.4 billion (33% increase). Etisalat has succeeded in elevating the UAE as one of the most connected countries with over 140% mobile penetration, and over 50% of the country connected to the Internet.
Etisalat’s contribution to the community
Even though the main objective of Etisalat is to provide telecommunication services to the nation, it has always adhered to the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility. The corporation strengthens the society it serves by supporting social, economic, sports and cultural activities. It also participates in economic related conferences and exhibitions organised throughout the Emirates and the region and is an award-winning socially responsible corporation. Etisalat has also won accolades from across the region for its Emiratisation programmes that have secured jobs for young national professionals for over 40 per cent of its workforce.
Etisalat’s Future
In 1982, Etisalat was the first telecom operator in the region to introduce a mobile phone service in UAE, and was one of the early adopters of GSM technology, introducing it to customers in 1994. Since then it has established itself as a regional pioneer by introducing both 3G and MMS in 2003, and most recently, the BlackBerry service in 2006. Etisalat looks at a future in which technology extends its reach. Already, music, books and services no longer have to have a physical format to be sold online. Advanced networks will increasingly provide education, healthcare and other services and goods. For instance, telemedicine already allows patients to seek the best advice from doctors around the world; now robotic aids are beginning to make remote surgery possible. As the pace of technological change increases, Etisalat intends to extend its reach into new technologies, services and markets, in the process raising the benchmark in customer services, acquisition and retention, and thus enhancing shareholder value. And that, at the end of the day, is what a successful corporation is all about.