www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat, the Middle Eastern mobile operator has reportedly unveiled that it has enough funds to pay in order to acquire the Moroccan mobile operator, Meditel. The list of bidders for the deal includes Oger Telecom, a telecom group controlled by the Saudi Oger Group, Qatar Telecommunications (Qtel) and Etisalat, the bankers close to the deal said. Confirmed bids are due by September 14 and a decision is expected later that month.
On 08.31.09, In Mobile, By Editor
On 08.26.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat and Nokia announced a joint promotion, providing a seamless experience to their customers, to enjoy the free Ramadan applications from Nokia during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
With the purchase of any of the featured Nokia devices, customers will get 1GB data package free for two months from Etisalat. The free data package will enable the customers to download the free Ramadan applications directly to their devices without paying for the Internet downloads.
This year’s Ramadan applications can be accessed and downloaded from Nokia’s Ovi Store. Users can launch Ovi Store from the Download! folder on the main menu on their Nokia device or access nokia.com/Ramadan on the PC.
“Etisalat’s robust 3G network and crystal clear voice clarity complements technologically advanced devices from Nokia to provide a truly unparalleled mobile internet experience to our customers. With the two months free 1GB data package that we are offering with Nokia during Ramadan, our aim is to enable users to explore the full Internet experience from downloading applications, to video streaming, to email and browsing, on these fantastic devices, “said Mr. Khalifa Al Shamsi, Acting Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat. (more…)
On 08.22.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat and Du are wooing subscribers by offering great deal during Ramadan.
Under du, the subscribers will be given 1 fil credit for every second of night-time international calls made between 10pm and 7am. Pay as You Go subscribers will be able to double their talk time.The subscribers subscribing during this month will receive free credit and Dh5 on every recharge made within four months of service activation and up to a totalof Dh110.
Etisalat has introduced the ‘24 Millionaires’ promotion, acording to which two subscribers recharging their Wasel accounts will be selected every week to win Dh2 million.
The offer will begin on August 22 and and lasts till 14 November
On 08.19.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat today announced the ‘24 Millionaires’ mega promotion for its customers in the holy month of Ramadan. Two lucky customers, recharging their Wasel accounts during the promotion, will be selected every week to win AED 2 Million, through an electronic raffle draw. The offer will kick off on Saturday 22nd August and will continue till 14th November 2009, providing an incredible opportunity to 24 lucky customers to win AED 24 million.
Customers will be automatically enrolled in the weekly raffle draw, based on their Wasel recharge. Customers can also gain additional chances to participate in the weekly draw, depending on the recharge amount. A higher recharge denomination will ensure more entries in the weekly draw as follows:
Recharging by AED 25 till 49, gets 1 chance in the draw
Recharging by AED 50 till 99, gets 3 chances in the draw
Recharging by AED 100 till 199, gets 6 chances in the draw
Recharging by AED 200 till 499, gets 12 chances in the draw
Recharging by AED 500 and above , gets 20 chances in the draw
A weekly raffle draw will take place at Etisalat head quarters starting from 30th August and ending by 15 November 2009.
Besides the chance to become millionaires, customers will also benefit from additional free credit on each Wasel recharge that can be used for all calls and SMS (local & international). Customers can check their extra free credit by calling *121#
Moreover, Customers will also be able to enjoy the ongoing 100% cash back in the form of free airtime credit on every Wasel purchase, renewal or reactivation till the end of September 2009. The free credit can be used towards international calls and will expire after 30 days from the day the credit is added to customer account.
Announcing the mega promotion, Khalifa Al Shamsi, Acting Chief Marketing Officer at Etisalat said: “Ramadan is the month of giving and a great time to connect with family and friends. Etisalat is enabling its customers to expand their reach and means during the holy month of Ramadan, while also providing them with a lifetime opportunity to become a millionaire. Etisalat wishes Ramadan Mubarak to all its customers and hopes that this holy month brings peace, prosperity, luck and happiness to our customers.”
Customers can recharge their Wasel accounts by using Prepaid Calling Card, eVoucher, Etisalat website, Emirates Post, Banks, Mobile Payment, Public Payment Machine, or any other means of payment.
For further information, please visit our website www.etisalat.ae or call 101.
On 08.14.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After weeks of negotiations by the regulation Agency of Post and Telecommunications Company (ARTP) over the licence terms, the government of Togo has suspended Moov Togo, Atlantic Telecom’s network. Moov, part of Etisalat’s Atlantique Telecom subsidiary, was asked by the regulator to pay CFA20 billion (USD44 million) to renew its licence, which expired in June 2008.
However discussions between the pair failed to reach agreement by the deadline of 10 August 2009, leading to the suspension of network.
On 08.03.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat, the UAE based mobile operator, has reportedly announced a promotion for its Location Based Service (LBS). Etisalat’s prepaid and postpaid subscriber will now be able to enjoy the service by receiving their locations free of charge until August 10.
Besides the location, customers can also explore nearest points of interest, such as shopping malls, ATMs, restaurants, lodging and entertainment options available in that location.
Subscribers can ask for details of a location through a list of help commands by sending text messaging “mlist” to 1333 and to find nearest places of interest, customers can rext message “nlist” to 1333.
LBS also enables subscribers to send maps of their location to family and friends.
On 07.30.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat, the UAE based mobile operator, is reportedly planning to make an investment in Sri Lankan telecoms market after a decade long ethnic war ends in the country. According a senior official at the middle eastern telco while his visit to the island will be meeting with various shareholders and the TRC.
“I’ve told the representative from Etisalat that Sri Lanka is open for investments into new or existing operations,” TRC director general, Priyantha Kariyapperuma said.
“With the war over in May, there is ample scope for investments into telecom services and infrastructure facilities, especially in the north and east,” he said.
On 07.27.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat today announced a special promotion for its More Rewards programme. Subscribers registering online for the More Rewards programme (www.etisalat.ae/more) will get AED 25 free talk-time in the form of 2,500 bonus More Reward points.
The Etisalat More Rewards programme enables Wasel and post-paid subscribers to earn reward points for every 1 AED worth of mobile spend. Customers can redeem these points through purchases with either Etisalat or its multiple programme partners. (more…)
On 07.24.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: RIM, the BlackBerry smartphone maker, has reportedly said that the BlackBerry patch issued by Etisalat to its subscribers has turned out to be a spyware. Etisalat reportedly sent out a patch last week that turned out to be surveillance software designed to copy received e-mails. The carrier, however, said the software was a patch designed to ease 2G to 3G handoffs.
“RIM confirms that this software is not a patch and it is not a RIM authorized upgrade,” RIM said in a statement.
Acording to media reports, the spyware attack hit roughly 145,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE last week when those users were prompted to update their smartphones.
“Etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application … Independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could then enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user’s smartphone. Independent sources have concluded that the Etisalat update is not designed to improve performance of your BlackBerry handheld, but rather to send received messages back to a central server.”
Whereas, contrary to RIM’s statement, Etisalat maintains that the update was “required for service enhancements”.
On 07.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat, the UAE based mobile operator, has reportedly denied that it has had any talks with Zain to acquire stake in its African unit.
In a statement, Mohamed Hasan Omran, chairman of Etisalat, said: “We did not present any proposal or bid to acquire a stake in Zain or any of its assets in Africa. We also did not negotiate nor discuss any of these issues with Zain officials.”