LONDON—United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) telecommunications operator Etisalat revealed that it has earmarked approximately US$1 billion to upgrade its cellular infrastructure. A significant proportion of this amount will finance the expansion and modernization of Etisalat’s core and access networks, enabling Etisalat to offer a range of services including PSTN, GSM, intelligent network, e-commerce, Internet and multimedia offerings.
Ali Salim Al Owais, Etisalat’s president and chief executive made the announcement. Al Owais revealed that Etisalat is looking forward to providing cutting-edge technology and services to its customer base during the next 25 years. “Our investments in technology, infrastructure and human resources development have laid a solid foundation for a sustainable growth in the new millennium.”
The GSM capacity will be increased to handle as many as 2.5 million subscribers. The current GSM penetration rate in the United Arab Emirates stands at about 55 percent, and room to grow to between 70 and 80 percent, according to Al Owais.
