Etisalat, Qualcomm share best practices on next-generation network and device strategies

Etisalat and Qualcomm recently held a strategic workshop in Abu Dhabi to discuss the future of mobile broadband services and devices. The event, organized to identify and give Etisalat insight into new developments and best practices in 3G/4G technology and mobile data services, enabled the companies to identify potential areas of strategic cooperation.

“Mobile has grown to become the most prevalent technology platform in human history and the era of ubiquitous connectivity is now upon us,” said Essa Al Haddad, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Etisalat.
“Our planning workshop and comprehensive cooperation agreement with Qualcomm is part of our commitment to give Etisalat’s customers the most advanced services, cutting-edge devices and the most exciting user experiences possible,” he added.
This is the first of several initiatives that are scheduled to be rolled out between the two companies and follows an agreement that was signed for Qualcomm to provide certain assistance to the Etisalat Group’s 18 international operations across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
“Mobile is evolving rapidly to enable entirely new breeds of devices and new types of mobile data services that go far beyond SMS and Web browsing,” said Jihad Srage, vice president and president of MEA operations at Qualcomm. “Etisalat has been truly innovative in embracing these new developments to give their customers the best mobile experiences possible. We’re very pleased to play a role in aiding Etisalat to map out their future broadband strategies.”
Etisalat is currently deploying LTE technologies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and has HSPA+ services in Egypt and Sri Lanka. CDMA is deployed in Pakistan and Tanzania. Etisalat has in excess of 135 million subscribers across its territories, which today cover a population in excess of 2.3 billion people.