Abu Dhabi, 7 December, 2011: Reaffirming its commitment to Emiratisation, Etisalat Group announced the appointment of Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Alhosani as Acting Chief Executive Officer in Etisalat Afghanistan and Mr. Ahmed Khalfan Al Mutawa as Chief Financial Officer for Etisalat Zantel, Tanzania. The appointments are in line with Etisalat’s strategy to develop UAE Nationals’ skills and providing them with the opportunities to manage international projects.

Alhosani is a key asset to Etisalat, having been assigned various management positions after progressing through the ranks since his joining in 1992. He has served as Deputy CEO of Etisalat Afghanistan since 2010. Alhosani graduated from Toledo University in the US and has a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering.

Ahmed Al Mutawa has held a number of roles within the Corporation in Financial Affairs and Auditing, since he joined in 2001. Before being promoted to Chief Financial Officer for Etisalat Zantel in Tanzania, he served as Vice President for Financial Affairs at Emirates Data Clearing House (EDCH), part of Etisalat Services Holding. Al Mutawa holds a Bachelor degree in Business Applied Administration from Higher Colleges of Technology in Al Ain.

Commenting on the appointments, Mr. Abdulaziz Al Sawaleh, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Etisalat, stated that Etisalat remains committed towards its Emiratisation strategy and the Corporation continues to focus on training UAE nationals and developing their talents and skills, while encouraging them to take leading positions both locally and abroad. He stated that Emiratis have proven their leadership skills in the most competitive markets, time and time again.

Sawaleh also stressed that Etisalat should utilise its successful status to enhance the position of UAE Nationals, and stated that corporations that do not give back and provide opportunities to its local people will not stay successful in the long term.

“At Etisalat, we’re proud to be one of the key organisations in which Emiratisation is a of our strategy, and the corporation is committed to following approaches that focus on investing in human capital, in order to strengthen its position as one of the key recruiters of qualified personnel in the UAE,” Al Sawaleh concluded.

Abu Dhabi : The Emirates Energy Star project, a joint initiative of Etisalat and Pacific Controls, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint levels in the UAE has received overwhelming support and endorsements from the public sector and private sector enterprises across the UAE. The first phase of the project has witnessed a large number of government entities signing up for the initiative. The unique project is being rolled out across the country under the patronage of the Ministry of Water and Environment, Government of UAE.

The project, harnesses the information, communication, technology (ICT) enabled M2M (machine-to-machine) technology from Etisalat, to substantially reduce energy consumption for organizations, with an aim to bring down the carbon footprint of the country by at least 20 per cent by 2015. The initiative champions the cause of improving energy efficiency in existing buildings thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint.     

Commenting on the program, from Mr. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Business Solutions at Etisalat said: “UAE has a significant carbon footprint, due to unabated energy consumption that is creating immense ecological, social and environmental pressure. The ‘Emirates Energy Star’ program will leverage on  M2M based technologies, to effectively help reduce the carbon footprint of the country through efficient energy consumption management. Through this transformational and innovative initiative, both Etisalat and Pacific Controls are doing their bit for the environment, and encouraging other organizations to think about sustainable development.”

Mr. Dilip Rahulan, Executive Chairman, Pacific Control Systems, said: “We are pleased with the support we have received for Emirates Energy Star project so far. It is heartening to note that the decision makers in both the public and private sectors in the UAE understand the importance of reducing energy consumption levels, and the challenges ahead. This unique initiative will not only help reduce the overall carbon footprint of the UAE but also will put us in norm with international guidelines on such emissions.”

All Etisalat clients, who are building owners, contractors, real-estate companies, government entities, and infrastructure owners like utilities and airports, can collaborate and leverage the resources of the Emirates Energy Star offerings. Using Etisalat networks and Pacific Controls Command Control Center, the Emirates Energy Star initiative will optimize their operations, reduce their utilities consumption and service costs, increase the running efficiency of their assets and have the capability to remotely manage them in real time.

The Emirates Energy Star program will help building owners with an initial audit that would identify potential Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs). The program will design ECMs for individual buildings; establish minimum costs; calculate the maximum energy savings; implement the project parameters as contractor; provide on-going monitoring and identification of project performance after completion; and carry out measurement and verification of carbon footprint of buildings in real time.

The Emirates Energy Star, project’s rating system, is being bestowed on participating building owners. It comprises of five successive levels, based on the energy efficiency improvements achieved through the Energy Star Program, beginning with a one star for a minimum of 10 per cent and ending with five stars for 30 per cent and above.

Apart from the obvious cost savings for the end user in the form of lower energy utility bills, the Emirates Energy Star program helps decrease pollution, water consumption and resultant waste. The building owners will be able to recover their investment towards the program from the savings that they make. The payback period for the building owner is in the range of 18-24 months depending upon the STAR rating the client opts. Due to compelling ROI the uptake of this program is expected to be high.

Abu Dhabi, , – Etisalat, the Middle East’s largest telecoms group, and Verimatrix, the specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-screen digital TV services around the globe, have been presented the Global Telecom Business Innovation Award in the Video Service Innovation category for the Etisalat Entertainment Network.

The Etisalat Entertainment Network is a new and secure, regional, end-to-end content delivery platform that is set to accelerate the adoption of digital content services on any screen regionally and is set to be adopted by telcos and ISPs throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Matthew Willsher, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat, said: “From TV on smart phones, laptops, tablets and PCs to High-Definition and 3D content at home, the Etisalat Entertainment Network has the power to deliver the television services the consumer wants, when they want it, wherever they may be. We have over ten years’ experience of working with television producers and broadcasters and through our extensive investment in next generation networks and our award winning Smart Hub and wholesale team, we have developed a unique and compelling proposition for all operators across the region.”

The Etisalat Entertainment Network will be offered by Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale team through its Smart Hub and offered to regional telecommunications and Internet service providers (ISPs). It will enable any operator partnering with Etisalat to provide premium syndicated television content, across multiple screens (TV, smart phones, tablets and computers) via different networks (fixed and mobile) anywhere in their area of operation.

This solution, which has been developed in association with Verimatrix and Etisalat platform partners that have integrated with the Verimatrix platform, ensures that Etisalat Entertainment Network offers broadcasters the ability to have their content delivered to users regardless of the end device with one of the most robust and flexible content security solutions available today.

By incorporating the Verimatrix Video Content Authority Solution (VCAS™) 3 architecture into the Etisalat Entertainment Network’s back-end systems, content owners will be able to publish their content once, and trust that it will be protected and delivered in a controlled way. This provides access to a very large potential audience with the ISP or telcos existing customers through a partnership with Etisalat.

“Verimatrix continues its singular focus on securing revenue streams for operators deploying advanced multi-network, multi-device video services. Etisalat Entertainment Network is clearly one of our most significant and ambitious deployments for IP-based video,” commented Tom Munro, CEO of Verimatrix. “We are proud to have been recognized for our part in this visionary offering.”

The first country to benefit from this new generation of services will be the UAE and by the end of 2011, more than 350,000 subscribers will be enjoying a next generation Etisalat IP and over the top (OTT) service, through many different types of end devices. This will reinforce Etisalat’s position as the largest ‘telco-TV’ operator in the Middle East.

In the near future, these services will be offered to Etisalat’s family of operators in 18 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East and will also be marketed by its award winning Carrier and Wholesale team to other operator groups in the region.

The Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards were first presented in 2007, at a dinner attended by 160 industry leaders from around the world. In 2011, twice that number of people attended including chief executive officers, chief technology officers and other leaders from operators and vendors throughout the world.

In presenting the awards Alan Burkitt-Gray, editor of Global Telecom Business, commented: “This is the fifth time we have run the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards and this year we saw more nominations, from a greater range of operators and vendors, than ever before. We started the Awards in order to celebrate what the industry is doing, making a huge difference to the world, to all of us in business and as consumers. Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners and to Etisalat and Verimatrix for the Etisalat Entertainment Network.”

For more information please visit www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com, www.verimatrix.com and www.etisalat.ae.

Etisalat Afghanistan, a 100% owned subsidiary of Etisalat Telecommunications, UAE and the official sponsor of National Afghanistan Cricket Team announced today renewal of partnership with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to boost and promote Cricket sport in Afghanistan. The ceremony held at Serena Hotel, Kabul  and was attended by Shahzada Masood, Vice Chairman Afghanistan Cricket Board, Yasser Aboul Amayem, Chief Commercial Officer Etisalat Afghanistan,

Nasimullah Danish, CEO Afghanistan Cricket Board among others senior representatives from both sides.

Shahzada Masood, Vice Chairman of Afghanistan Cricket Board while speaking on the occasion said, “Afghanistan Cricket Board greatly values our long standing partnership with Etisalat Afghanistan and deeply appreciate their vision and continuous support towards the development of Cricket in the country. The rise of Cricket in Afghanistan is inspiring the youth with a hope for a bright future.”

Yasser Aboul Amayem, Chief Commercial Officer Etisalat Afghanistan stated, “Etisalat Afghanistan remains committed in empowering Sports in Afghanistan. We have stood shoulder to shoulder with Afghanistan Cricket Board for the promotion and development of Cricket in general and the youth of Afghanistan in particular. We see this as a journey as well as an excellent opportunity to tap the talent of younger segment of the society, encouraging them towards healthy and prosperous activities and there is no better platform available than Sports to give them exposure and a chance to show their skills on the world stage”.

Afghanistan National Cricket team has been ranked among the top ten cricket playing nations across the globe. The National Cricket Team is the reigning champions of ICC Inter Continental Trophy and has also gained the ICC One Day International Status (ODI) till 2013.

For more information please visit:

www.etisalat.af ; www.facebook.com/etisalatAf

For any queries, please contact:

Imran Janjua

ijanjua@etisalat.af

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has won the prestigious “2nd Global HR Excellence Award 2011” in recognition of its outstanding organizational performance in the telecom sector. This award is an acknowledgement of PTCL’s pioneering efforts undertaken to transform our HR policies and practices demonstrated by exceptional commitment towards elevating PTCL to new heights of success by overcoming atypical challenges.

 Commenting on these achievements, Senior Executive Vice President Human Resource, Syed Mazhar Hussain said in recent years, PTCL has firmly established its reputation for redefining and realigning the industrial relations paradigm. In line with contemporary business requirements, it has led organizational development and employee welfare by successfully creating a win-win situation, both for the employees and the organization, to emerge as an employer of choice

The Award’s judges unanimously selected PTCL for this year’s honor in view of the fast-paced progression of its HR Department, and its exceptional achievements in successfully leading the company’s massive post-privatization transition by introducing HR best practices in a very short period of time.

The Global HR Excellence Awards recognize leading organizations that have achieved excellence in the sphere of Human Resource and Organizational Development.

For more information please visit:

www.ptcl.net. pk ;

For any queries, please contact:

Aqeel Shigri

aqeel.shigri@ptcl.net.pk

Dubai: Etisalat, through its exclusive kids channel, e-junior, a part of Etisalat TV services, has embarked on a holistic road safety awareness campaign for school students in the UAE. Themed under the Road Safety this year, the e-junior ‘Catch the Bus’ campaign has been created in collaboration with Total Marketing Middle East.

The e-junior crew conducted a series of interviews and quizzes with children from different schools, to gauge their awareness about road safety rules, tips and signs. All kids with correct answers got gift vouchers from Total Marketing Middle East in addition to stationary from Staedtler.

Commenting on the campaign, Fatiha Bensalem, Sr. Channel Manager/e-junior said: “Etisalat is conscious that children and the youth are our first and foremost stakeholders for a sustainable future. Since road safety is one of the key issues that impact our children, the focus of our ‘Catch the Bus’ campaign this year, has been on road safety. This exciting campaign yet meaningful initiative will encourage kids to learn more about road awareness and safety and not only raise awareness, but also change the way parents, school staff, motorists, and children apply safety measures in their daily lives.” Sharing the same  concerns for Child Road Safety, Philippe Cabus, Managing Director, Total Marketing Middle East said, “This campaign is yet another of our endeavor to spread this message of road safety. To resonate Total’s policy on safety, this campaign is intended to enlighten tomorrows drivers today.”

Etisalat TV services, offered through eLife and e-vision are a leading source for regional entertainment in the UAE to offer over 350 TV channels in 21 different languages, ranging from sports to movies, from documentaries to music and kid’s channels in addition to 32 high definition premium channels. The comprehensive entertainment offerings include 15 premium packages from all the major TV providers like OSN, ART, Pehla, Firstnet, TFC, Pinoy Plus, Abu Dhabi Media, Al Jazeera and many more, in addition to the e-vision Basic package.

Dubai, UAE, 25 October 2011: At the recently concluded GITEX Technology Week, which took place at the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre, Etisalat Information Services successfully showcased its newly upgraded version of Yellow Pages iPhone application,  the most complete and accurate directory in the UAE.

The latest version of the Yellow Pages iPhone application provides a range of new features and enhancements, including a bi-lingual (English and Arabic) interface, a number of special discount deals and provides user reviews about all sorts of company listings.

The latest version of the application, which will be available to download from Apple’s AppStore, is simple to navigate and allows users to search Businesses by Name, by Category, by Brand or by Keyword once the city has been selected.

During the display of the Yellow Pages iPhone application, Rashid Al Naqbi, General Manager, Etisalat Information Services, said: “We are delighted to enhance both the number and quality of services that we can now offer to our customers in the UAE. The new upgraded version of Yellow Pages for iPhone which is developed in coordination with our new partner M/S Express Printing incorporates the latest innovations in information services and is a valuable addition to our growing portfolio. We hope that our valued customers will enjoy using the application’s user-friendly interface and realize the added-value provided in it.”

Etisalat Information Services LLC (eIS) is a member of the prestigious Local Search Association (formerly Yellow Pages Association) which is the largest international organization of print, digital, mobile and social media publishers.

Etisalat Yellow Pages website, www.yellowpages.ae, is the most complete and accurate online directory in the UAE which complements the mobile Yellow Pages platform as well as the print directory, which has been in existence for more than 30 years.

Dubai, October 11, 2011 – Reinforcing its leadership in Managed Services, Etisalat today announced that it is currently implementing a Managed ATM solution for Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the world’s first Islamic bank, to provide end-to-end managed services for 252 offsite ATMs.

Etisalat will provide holistic management of all the MPLS links and routers for the Dubai Islamic Bank country wide network of 252 offsite ATMs. The Managed ATM solution has already been implemented across DIB’s 180 remote ATM sites in the first phase and the second phase for linking the additional 72 ATM sites is in progress.

Etisalat has implemented a one stop solution for managing links and routers while also providing onsite support through its Managed WAN service. This solution will provide Dubai Islamic Bank with the highest resiliency and redundancy for operations continuity ensuring the highest-level of security and resulting in higher productivity at reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the bank. The unique feature of this solution is that in the event of a failure in the primary MPLS link at any remote ATM site, the connectivity will automatically fail-over to Etisalat’s 3G network, ensuring operational continuity.

Besides offering higher uptimes and reliability through proactive monitoring and management, the Managed ATM service from Etisalat will also provide several other benefits like faster transaction times, higher bandwidth and security management solutions.

 Mr. Mohamed Abdulla Al Nahdi, Deputy CEO, DIB, commenting on the agreement with Etisalat said “Our agreement with Etisalat is a reflection of our commitment to provide the best ATM service possible to our customers.  With this arrangement, our customers will be able to experience the fastest ATM transactions and be protected by the highest levels of security and compliance standards available anywhere.”

Commenting on the service, Mr. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President Business Solutions at Etisalat said: “Outsourced managed services enable organizations to focus on their core competencies while reducing their total cost of IT ownership. Through this relationship Etisalat aims to bring great value to Dubai Islamic Bank, with our strong delivery capacity, a modern and reliable infrastructure and robust processes. This is indeed a transformational deal, which reinforces our status as the leading ICT service provider in the region.”

Etisalat, the UAE’s largest telecoms firm, plans to launch a mobile payment system by the year end, the operator said Tuesday. 

The system, which will initially be available on BlackBerry Bold 9900 devices but will later include all phones with near field communication (NFC) technology, allows users to pay for purchases of up to $50 by swiping their mobile phone at MasterCard purchase points.

Users will be able to top up their “virtual wallet” and shop at around 600 points of sale across the UAE. Costa Coffee, Burger King and Reel Cinemas have so far signed up to the service, said MasterCard.

The card service provider said it planned to double the number of purchase points in the Gulf state to 1,200 in the next six months.

Etisalat said it plans to launch the technology in stages and eventually hopes to link customer’s smartphones with their credit cards.

“What we are launching now is a prepaid MasterCard so you have got to top it up [but] in the future you will have your credit card, which doesn’t need to be topped up.,” Enrique Beza, senior manager of m-commerce, Etisalat UAE, told journalists at the launch.

“Prepaid cards will be the first launch and credit cards and debts card will be the second [phase].”

All Etisalat NFC devices will come preloaded with a NFC enabled sim card while existing customers will be able to update their card in store.

The operator said it is currently in talks with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority to roll out the technology to include the Dubai Metro and said it could also be used to download music, content and redeem loyalty points.

“The possibilities around NFC are not just around payment. Payment is, of course, a very important application but with smart tags you can build a story. You could have coupons…. redeem points with your next coffee or get a coffee free,” said Beza.

The rise of mobile payments has been hailed as a revolution for consumers amid a saturated market for credit and debit card providers.

Rival payment firm VISA in June acquired South Africa’s Fundamo in a deal valued at $110m, in a bid to develop mobile payment services in lucrative development markets.

MasterCard purchased the Ireland-based Orbiscom, a payments solutions provider, for around $100m in 2009.

Smartphone penetration in the UAE currently stands at 15 percent but is expected to increase 11 percent per year for the next year years, driven in part by the Gulf state’s growing population, according to the memory products vendor, SanDisk.

“We see a few markets that are particularly conducive to introduce of this type of technology and….MasterCard’s view is that this one of those places where there would be good adoption,” said Philip Yen, group head, emerging payments for Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa at MasterCard.

“Initially [this will be] for the Middle East and Africa but we believe it could be a showcase beyond even this region for the rest of the world as well,” he added.

Etisalat Logo

Dubai 8 September 2011: Etisalat, Middle East’s leading telecom operator and TV services provider today announced the launch of FOODFOOD, the International Food Channel in Hindi language for Etisalat’s eLife Triple Play customers.  FoodFood, a joint venture between Asia’s leading cross-media group, Astro Overseas Limited (Astro), Sanjeev Kapoor’s Turmeric Vision Pvt Ltd (TVPL) & Mogae Consultants, is India’s leading Hindi 24×7 Food Lifestyle Channel.

Etisalat is the first operator in the region to offer the FOODFOOD (channel # 681) to its customers in the UAE, as a part of eLife TV Asian Choice Basic package.

FOODFOOD is the brainchild of Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor. The channel brings an entirely new and exciting repertoire of exquisite and mouth watering recipes and fun food shows to keep the family entertained and engrossed through each delectable episode. It is a channel not just about stand-and-stir kind of shows but features programming that is compellingly interactive with the audiences.

Commenting on the new channel addition, Mr. Humaid Rashid Sahoo, Chief Executive Officer, e-vision, Etisalat said: “At Etisalat, we always endeavor to provide the most refreshing and relevant content to our valuable customers. The addition of this exciting new Cookery and food channel with exciting new programming from the well known Master Chef, Sanjeev Kapoor, now a household name across the region will further enrich our bouquet of services, while offering unmatched entertainment to our viewers.”

Commenting on expansion in the Middle East market, Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor said, “The Middle East (especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai) have become a must visit destination for tourists worldwide and  therefore form a very important and challenging market for food and cookery based television content in High Definition format. We are pleased to join hands as a regional television content partner with Etisalat, the largest and most experienced Telecom operator in the region, for distributing our content to the entire Hindi speaking population. We are confident that with the experience and expertise of our regional Partners, Mediastream MFZE, a Television Representation & Media marketing Services Company based in Dubai, we will have a prominent presence in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East region.

All the shows on Foodfood are produced and shot in scintillating high definition. The content is personally researched, directed and supervised by Sanjeev Kapoor and his experienced team of Food Specialists. Says Mr. Kapoor, “Going forward we plan to enhance our appeal across the entire MENA and Africa region by customizing our offering and creating programming that meets the viewing preferences of the region”.

Dubai, 8 September 2011: Etisalat recently presented the Environmental Emergency Office of Dubai Municipality an award in recognition of the Municipality’s efforts in locating criminal gangs who used its network illegally.

The Etisalat team, headed by Acting Vice President of Corporate Communications, Jaber Al Janahi, visited the Environmental Emergency Office and presented a trophy to Khalid Salem Selaiteen, Head of the Environmental Emergency Office, who received the award on behalf Dubai Municipality.

On this occasion, Al Janahi said: “This trophy is a token of our thanks and appreciation of the continued efforts from the Environmental Emergency Office. It is also step forward in our collaboration with governmental entities to prevent any potential fraudulent activities that may impact the ongoing development of the country.”

Khalid Salem Selaiteen said: “We noticed suspicious telecommunications activity and began monitoring these accommodations during our daily surveys and worked with Etisalat to discuss the cases that were found. We then notified the Dubai Police, who were able to arrest these Asian gangs that made international phone calls using illegal technologies.”

“We encourage all Emiratis and residents in the UAE to collaborate and inform all necessary parties about suspicious activity, by calling the toll-free numbers dedicated for this purpose, or contact the necessary security officials,” Mr. Selaiteen continued.