Etisalat Nigeria announces the start of its commercial services

In a statement by Etisalat's Group Chairman, Mohammed Hassan Omran, he said:

"Indeed I am pleased to see Etisalat Nigeria join the fold of Etisalat's international operations to offer Nigerians access to a new 'talk' experience and a totality of Etisalat's world-class products, and telephony services."

Etisalat will open the doors to Nigerians in several cities spanning all six geo-political zones of the country from 24 October 2008. It will offer nearly a million Nigerians who reserved numbers on its 0809uchoose campaign immediate redemption of their sim cards and new subscribers immediate availability of its pre-paid services on its network.

Commenting further on the development, Etisalat Nigeria's Acting CEO, Mr. Ali Ahmad Yaroof, said:

"Announcing this milestone at Gitex is symbolic for us because we are presently showcasing (both as a Group and an operating unit) what we are known for everywhere we operate: innovation and seamless technology. We are demonstrating the ingenuity behind Etisalat's customer-centric solutions and services, our robust and mutually rewarding partnerships and the holistic power of the Etisalat brand at Gitex."

Etisalat Nigeria has assured Nigerians of its commitment to the telecommunications industry in Nigeria and to contributing to changing the quality of the subscriber's experience.

Etisalat has been recently ranked as the fastest growing telecommunications company in the world, and the largest operator in Africa and the Middle East, serves an aggregate of 74 million subscribers in 17 countries. 'Etisalat announced earlier that it is on course to achieve its vision of becoming one of the top ten service providers and increasing its subscribers base to 100 million subscriber by 2010.