In order to introduce nation-wide competition in fixed-line telecommunications services, the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has announced today that “Etisalat” and “du” are working together to bring choice for consumers and businesses in their selection of fixed telecommunications service providers. Business and residential customers in the UAE will soon have the ability to choose between 
operators for their fixed line voice and broadband services. This becomes possible through the use of technology known as “Bitstream access” which allows network sharing between the operators.
As of 14 July 2011, Etisalat and du commenced a soft-launch of the service to a select group of customers by invitation only. The arrangements for the soft launch were agreed between Etisalat and du and endorsed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The soft launch is regarded as a final stage of testing designed to assess all aspects of the service including the customer interface systems, the inter-operator systems, the order and provisioning process and the technical capabilities. Above all else, the soft-launch is focussed on assessing the customer experience.
Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA commented- “this is a major milestone on the road to competition in fixed-line services. Etisalat and du have been working on this for some time and many people wondered if it would ever happen. This is very positive news and comes as a result of the resources that Etisalat, du and the TRA have dedicated to the project. Etisalat and du compete strongly in mobile services and we can all see the benefits that competition in mobile services has brought to the UAE. We will soon enter a phase of strong competition in fixed services and we expect similar benefits to flow as a result. We hope that this final stage of testing and implementation is successful so that we can see a commercial launch before the end of the year”.
Saeed Al Hamli A/CEO of Etisalat commented “Etisalat has always believed that competition is a win-win situation for all as it energizes operators to excel and stimulates telecommunications advancement in the country. “Bitstream Access” in the UAE will lead to cost efficiencies and will further enable telecom operators to focus on creating a unique customer experience. As the region’s pioneer in offering advanced high quality fixed-line services, we are fully prepared for a more competitive landscape in the UAE.”
Al Hamli added, “Over the last three decades, Etisalat has committed to providing its customers with latest high quality services. We have been, and are still, investing heavily in building a resilient future-ready infrastructure which includes the recent commissioning of our NGN IP Based core and the nationwide fiber-optic network. In our commitment to fulfil our valuable customers requirements and needs for very high quality broad band service, Etisalat has been the leader in providing multiple offerings such as High Speed Internet, IPTV, Video On Demand (VoD) as well as national and international MPLS based connectivity. Etisalat has also built a robust and fully diversified international network connectivity by acquiring a very high capacity from the international terrestrial and submarine cable systems terminating at Etisalat UAE landing stations covering both the East and West. We look forward to this opportunity to extend our innovative services to the entire spectrum of customers in the country. We are confident that Etisalat’s strong network capabilities and customer-focused offerings will attract new customers and reward our existing customers for their loyalty.”
Osman Sultan, CEO of du said “As we are providing choice in mobile services, we are equally pleased about the opportunity to provide consumers and businesses across the UAE a choice in their selection of a fixed line services provider. Through our fibre access network, we are providing our loyal customers a variety of innovative offers ranging from High Speed Real Broadband, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services, High Definition Television (HDTV), Video on Demand (VOD) , 3 Dimension Television (3DTV) for consumers and Businesses grade high speed Broadband, point to multipoint Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with class of service, hosted IPPBX, managed services and more for business customers
Further, it’s a matter of pride for us that within the last two years , we have completed another important milestone, by transforming our core infrastructure to a full MPLS converged network that enables us to efficiently carry out all types of traffic like voice, data, video and other whilst maintaining high standards of Quality of Service.
With the availability of choice for our customers, we will be able to offer them all the innovative offers including Real Home broadband: high speed internet and other services.”
“Now all enterprise and SME customers will have innovative offers for their fixed line services as well including fast, reliable and business grade access broadband and point to multipoint national and global connectivity, managed ICT services etc. nationwide.
We will stand by our commitment to provide innovative and reliable services to all our business and residential customers with best value for money. This Soft launch is only a first step for some customers, but it is formal stage of testing needed to ensure that all technical aspects are tested appropriately before the nationwide commercial launch.”
The soft launch is, in the first instance, to focus on the provision of high-speed Internet, business VPN (Virtual Private Network) and fixed-line voice services. The operators plan to extend the bitstream agreement to include IPTV services at a later stage, when a number of commercial and technical requirements are aligned. Customers invited to participate in the soft launch will be asked to provide their feedback to the operators and the TRA to assess their overall experience on all aspects of the service. This will enable Etisalat and du to evaluate and resolve any system issues before the commercial launch. Subject to results and feedback from the soft launch, the commercial launch of the service across the United Arab Emirates is scheduled for December 2011.
operators for their fixed line voice and broadband services. This becomes possible through the use of technology known as “Bitstream access” which allows network sharing between the operators.As of 14 July 2011, Etisalat and du commenced a soft-launch of the service to a select group of customers by invitation only. The arrangements for the soft launch were agreed between Etisalat and du and endorsed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The soft launch is regarded as a final stage of testing designed to assess all aspects of the service including the customer interface systems, the inter-operator systems, the order and provisioning process and the technical capabilities. Above all else, the soft-launch is focussed on assessing the customer experience.
Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA commented- “this is a major milestone on the road to competition in fixed-line services. Etisalat and du have been working on this for some time and many people wondered if it would ever happen. This is very positive news and comes as a result of the resources that Etisalat, du and the TRA have dedicated to the project. Etisalat and du compete strongly in mobile services and we can all see the benefits that competition in mobile services has brought to the UAE. We will soon enter a phase of strong competition in fixed services and we expect similar benefits to flow as a result. We hope that this final stage of testing and implementation is successful so that we can see a commercial launch before the end of the year”.
Saeed Al Hamli A/CEO of Etisalat commented “Etisalat has always believed that competition is a win-win situation for all as it energizes operators to excel and stimulates telecommunications advancement in the country. “Bitstream Access” in the UAE will lead to cost efficiencies and will further enable telecom operators to focus on creating a unique customer experience. As the region’s pioneer in offering advanced high quality fixed-line services, we are fully prepared for a more competitive landscape in the UAE.”
Al Hamli added, “Over the last three decades, Etisalat has committed to providing its customers with latest high quality services. We have been, and are still, investing heavily in building a resilient future-ready infrastructure which includes the recent commissioning of our NGN IP Based core and the nationwide fiber-optic network. In our commitment to fulfil our valuable customers requirements and needs for very high quality broad band service, Etisalat has been the leader in providing multiple offerings such as High Speed Internet, IPTV, Video On Demand (VoD) as well as national and international MPLS based connectivity. Etisalat has also built a robust and fully diversified international network connectivity by acquiring a very high capacity from the international terrestrial and submarine cable systems terminating at Etisalat UAE landing stations covering both the East and West. We look forward to this opportunity to extend our innovative services to the entire spectrum of customers in the country. We are confident that Etisalat’s strong network capabilities and customer-focused offerings will attract new customers and reward our existing customers for their loyalty.”
Osman Sultan, CEO of du said “As we are providing choice in mobile services, we are equally pleased about the opportunity to provide consumers and businesses across the UAE a choice in their selection of a fixed line services provider. Through our fibre access network, we are providing our loyal customers a variety of innovative offers ranging from High Speed Real Broadband, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services, High Definition Television (HDTV), Video on Demand (VOD) , 3 Dimension Television (3DTV) for consumers and Businesses grade high speed Broadband, point to multipoint Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with class of service, hosted IPPBX, managed services and more for business customers
Further, it’s a matter of pride for us that within the last two years , we have completed another important milestone, by transforming our core infrastructure to a full MPLS converged network that enables us to efficiently carry out all types of traffic like voice, data, video and other whilst maintaining high standards of Quality of Service.
With the availability of choice for our customers, we will be able to offer them all the innovative offers including Real Home broadband: high speed internet and other services.”
“Now all enterprise and SME customers will have innovative offers for their fixed line services as well including fast, reliable and business grade access broadband and point to multipoint national and global connectivity, managed ICT services etc. nationwide.
We will stand by our commitment to provide innovative and reliable services to all our business and residential customers with best value for money. This Soft launch is only a first step for some customers, but it is formal stage of testing needed to ensure that all technical aspects are tested appropriately before the nationwide commercial launch.”
The soft launch is, in the first instance, to focus on the provision of high-speed Internet, business VPN (Virtual Private Network) and fixed-line voice services. The operators plan to extend the bitstream agreement to include IPTV services at a later stage, when a number of commercial and technical requirements are aligned. Customers invited to participate in the soft launch will be asked to provide their feedback to the operators and the TRA to assess their overall experience on all aspects of the service. This will enable Etisalat and du to evaluate and resolve any system issues before the commercial launch. Subject to results and feedback from the soft launch, the commercial launch of the service across the United Arab Emirates is scheduled for December 2011.
