Etisalat propels Liwa Festival to 21st century

This will enable all participants and visitors to the area to not only make and receive calls and messages as normal, but to also enjoy advanced services such as video calling and high-speed Internet access from their mobile phones, handheld devices or laptop computers using the Etisalat USB Data Modem.

The Moreeb Dune is located inside the Liwa desert, at a distance of 260km from Abu Dhabi. It is one of the largest dunes in the world at 300m height, 1600m width and an incline of 50 degrees. The 2nd International Liwa Festival, which will be held between 30th December 2007 and 4th January 2008, features the Moreeb Dune Cars and Bikes Championship. Alongside the Championship will be a range of activities for spectators including shooting, falconry, camel racing, horse racing and more, and the Championship will feature modified V6 & V8 cars.

This initiative from Etisalat comes as part of the telco's commitment to encouraging and supporting sport tourism in the UAE. It also expands the 3.5G network coverage of Etisalat, which already covers 97% of the populated areas of the nation, and is now being expanded to cover remote areas. Etisalat's 2G network already covers 100% of the UAE, making it the operator with the widest coverage in the area.

Apart from 3.5G services available on suitable handsets, Etisalat customers can also use products such as MobileCAM, which provides anytime, anywhere access to video footage and video call services to a home or office, and also allows users to hold a conversation as the camera device has an installed microphone and speaker.

The service permits users to nominate 20 pre-set users to view one MobileCam. A unique PIN number protection also offers the option to add or bar individual users, guaranteeing privacy. Etisalat 3G MobileCAM also has an automatic night mode option, an option to record footage, zooming and pan-tilt functionality and provides an all-round view.

Customers will also be able to enjoy access to 15 channels on Etisalat's Mobile TV service, all through the duration of their visit to the Moreeb Dunes area.

To access high-speed Internet from laptops, the new USB Data modem and the latest version of the PCMCIA data card both bring speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps) in the downstream and up to 1.9 mbps in the upstream. Smaller than a standard PC mouse, this USB modem can be used with laptop computers with USB ports, enabling true connectivity for the user even in such a remote area. There is no subscription fee for this Modem, and there are various data packages that customers can choose from, including pay-as-you-go.

Etisalat USB Data Modems and MobileCAMs are available at all Etisalat Business Centres and authorized retail outlets.