Etisalat makes its mark at MECOM 2007

The exciting exhibition stand at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre proved to be a major draw for all visitors to the inaugural IT and telecommunications event. Its activities took off on the first day of MECOM with the launch of a hot air balloon outside of the new Abu Dhabi National Exhibiton Centre.

Ahmed Bin Ali, Vice President- Corporate Communications, Etisalat, said:

"MECOM has been a success, and we are confident that the avenues that have been opened to us during this time will go a long way in establishing us as the operator of choice in the UAE. We believe that such events are unmatched opportunities to reach out to our industry peers and partners, as well as to our customers who have encouraged us to innovate current and future telecommunication services."

Etisalat backed its commitment as Platinum Sponsor of MECOM by also sponsoring the Registration Desk, Internet Centre and Delegates Café. MECOM visitors who registered early were able to make use of the online registering facility. A large number of visitors were able to enjoy the connectivity of free Internet access provided by Etisalat, and relax and network with associates and partners in the comfort of the Delegates Café.

Dignitaries who visited Etisalat's giant exhibition stand including His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Her Excellency Mariam Al Roumi, UAE Minister for Social Affairs, Sheikh Khalid Al Khalifa and His Excellency Marwan Hamada, Lebanese Telecommunications Minister. They were given a tour of the stand, which included demonstrations of the latest technologies being pioneered by Etisalat in the UAE, such as Mobile Television and 3G/3.5G services, Push To Talk (PTT), Video Calling and messaging, and Etisalat's comprehensive portfolio of business solutions enabling security and connectivity.

The Etisalat stand housed demonstrations of over 40 different services and solutions including its comprehensive Enterprise Solutions portfolio comprising of market-leading ICT solutions and comprehensive eBusiness & Business Connect solutions. E-Vision, the leading cable TV provider in the region and a part of Etisalat also showcased its unique content and packages designed to cater specifically to the UAE's culturally diverse audience with programming available across 17 languages comprising of over 15 packages and 31 a la carte channels

Etisalat's strategy and vision for 2007 was presented in the keynote address of MECOM conference by Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat. During his presentation, Al Haddad acknowledged that customer understanding is at the core of Etisalat's strategy and highlighted key successes that have been made over the last 12 months. These include achieving over 135% mobile phone penetration and 60% Internet penetration, supported by over 200,000 broadband users.

During the four day exhibition, Etisalat offered all its customers discounts and promotional offers on Mobile TV Service, 3G and 3.5G data card packages and Ahlan Prepaid SIM cards. Visitors to the stand too were able to enter contests to win BlackBerry devices, as well as take away gift bags.

Etisalat announced a partnership agreement with Tawasul Telecom, a leading Kuwait based telecommunication and IT Services firm, in order to provide business customers in the GCC countries access to IP-VPN (Virtual Private Network) services through Tawasul Telecom's pan-GCC network for secure and reliable connectivity.

Etisalat also entered into a multi-party agreement to develop specialised telecom services for residents of the UAE with special needs. This was signed in the presence of Her Excellency Mariam Al Roumi, UAE Minister of Social Affairs.