du and Vodafone sign exclusive partner market agreement (UAE)
Heralding the next stage of development and growth, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, and the UK’s Vodafone today jointly announced signing of a Partner Market Agreement. The exclusive strategic partnership will help both companies to better serve the needs of their respective customers in the UAE. Under the terms of this agreement, du will have exclusive access to Vodafone’s range of products, devices and services in the UAE and will be able to draw on Vodafone’s experience in supply chain management, technology development, acquisition of enterprise customers from multi-national companies as well as improved inter-working between networks. To be available in phases over a period of time, the partnership with Vodafone will provide du customers with improved voice and data roaming access across 67 countries. In turn, Vodafone will be able to use du’s state-of-the-art 3G network to offer its customers full set of services available on home network capabilities and extended coverage within the UAE. The partnership will also enable various multinational companies based outside the UAE and with local operations meet their needs for unified communication, offer centralized customer care and enjoy Vodafone’s benefits using du lines. Commenting on the agreement, Hatem Dowidar, CEO, Vodafone Partner Markets, commented: “Through this agreement with du, Vodafone will be able to increase its brand recognition and extend its product range to a key market with a growing population. Mobile usage in the UAE is growing steadily and more of our customers require enhanced roaming services to and from the region.”
Underling the benefits of the partnership, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: “The partnership with Vodafone will enable du and our customers to join the world’s largest international mobile network, whilst maintaining the advantages of being a local operator, thus supporting our prime mission of best serving the UAE population. This alliance will bring substantial benefits to our customers and shareholders, becoming a catalyst for expanding our service portfolio and improving our operational efficiency. ”
At a later stage, the du-Vodafone partnership will offer benefits such as mobile broadband connectivity products for
PC’s through innovative means, secure remote mobile access for small business users, converged email solutions, faster and exclusive access to new models of handsets and much more.
About Vodafone
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications group with approximately 280 million proportionate customers as of 30 September 2008. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 27 countries across five continents and over 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com
About du
du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, was awarded the second license to operate fixed and mobile
telecommunications services in February 2006. The company launched its ‘du’ brand in the same month and listed
20% of its shares on the Dubai Financial Market in April 2006. du launched mobile telecommunication services on 11
February 2007 across the UAE in addition to internet and pay TV services in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, the first of du’s nationwide Fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007.
Among du’s many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind ‘WoW’ recharge card (which offers customers the choice between more credit and more time) and Self Care. du business offers include Closed Business User Group and preferred International Destinations.
du’s retail network, currently numbering 27 du shops located in strategic locations across all emirates, was launched on 25 February 2007, supporting the delivery of du services to customers.
du is 40 percent owned by the UAE Federal Government, 20 percent by Mubadala Development Company, 20 percent by Emirates Communications & Technology Company LLC and 20 percent by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
