EIM reports 25 per cent increase in SME broadband subscribers in the first quarter since launch of new packages

Etisalat's Internet Business Unit attributes the sharp increase to the re-launch of the BusinessOne package in May this year, when the service was repackaged into five separately priced solutions that cater to all budgets of various sized companies.

Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all product, which was previously the case, the new products provide a range of access speeds, various download limits, a scalable number of emails and web hosting, allowing organsiations to tailor their Internet access to suit their business.

"We believe this positive increase in new subscribers is due to the way EIM analysed the market and re-configured its BusinessOne range to meet the individual needs of businesses," commented Maroua Naim, General Manager, EIM. "We have been receiving positive feedback from most of the business community due to our restructuring of the BusinessOne solution."

However, EIM stressed the importance for businesses to monitor their downloads to ensure they remained within their limits. "In order for us to decrease the price for smaller enterprises we applied download limits, which vary across the package range. Businesses need to be mindful of these limits as additional charges will be levied against businesses who exceed their quota," explained Naim.

To allow users to actively keep track of their download limits, EIM has provided an online facility to monitor download caps via the Web. The customer enters the username and password (at www.eim.ae/billing) for the BusinessOne administrator account, and can view the current bill with details of usage.

EIM said the BusinessOne single user package, which has a download limit of 300MB per month, would incur a charge of Dhs 85.00 for every additional download of 250MB over the standard cap. While users of the four multi-user packages, which provide a monthly download cap ranging from 1GB to 8GB, would be charged an additional of Dhs 150.00 for every additional 500MB over 8GB quota.

The new packages start from Dhs 350 for the BusinesOne single user package. Previously, companies had to pay a fixed price of Dhs 1,100 per month regardless of their size.