Etisalat of Abu Dhabi, UAE won a Stevie® Award for Most Innovative Company of the Year, Middle East and Africa, in the company awards categories of The 2011 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards program. (The 2012 IBAs are now open for entries. Download your entry kit here and submit your entries by the 16 May entry deadline.) Here we look at how Etisalat used technology innovation to advance their organization.
Etisalat is a leading telecom company which serves over 140 million customers in 18 countries around the world. In 2010 the innovation awards winner committed $1.5 billion into infrastructure and other CAPEX brining new services and advanced functionality to its customers across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Using emerging technology, Etisalat secured several key developments and launches including:
- The completion of a nationwide fiber-optic network and introduction of ‘triple-play’ services (eLife) –telephone, Internet and television. What makes this more impressive, is that with Etisalat’s network the UAE today offers the fastest broadband (30Mbps) connectivity to the home in the Middle East region.
- The launch of 3DTV services in time for the World Cup placed the UAE amongst the first five nations in the world to deploy this technology. Etisalat now offers a variety of sports channels in 3D and is supporting the boom in advanced TV technologies such as IPTV.
- For businesses, Etisalat’s fiber network allows connection speeds of up to 100Mbps – which is a key landmark for the region. It is also supporting the overall economic development of the nation.
- The future broadband access technology will be wireless, and Etisalat has made ground deploying the latest standard – LTE – in the UAE. Commercial trials started and progress has been made for deploying the largest network in the Middle East.
- In Africa, Etisalat introduced BlackBerry services to six countries including Benin, Gabon, Togo, Central African Republic, Niger and Ivory Coast. This popular business and social tool is bringing a new world of services to these markets.
- In Sudan Etisalat’s fiber optic network has been enhanced with a new Internet gateway. This is supporting corporate customers in oil, banking and education and is geared up to enable Wi-Max and Wi-Fi in the future.
- Also in Sudan, the company has introduced EVDO for broadband, enabling wireless broadband access of up to 3.1 Mbps.
- In Egypt Etisalat deployed the latest GSM wireless broadband technology HSPA, bringing speeds of up to 42Mbps to smart phones and mobile devices across 88% of the country. Etisalat Misr is now preparing to introduce advanced ICT services such as m-commerce, m-advertising, mobile applications and payment services.
- In Saudi Arabia, Etisalat’s HSPA+ subscriber base crossed 2,000,000 making it the largest active HSPA+ base in the world. This wireless technology and network is now consuming 90 Terabytes of data a day.
- Etisalat’s associate in Pakistan introduced EVDO technology for wireless broadband and has set itself up to be the first 3G wireless service provider in Pakistan using CDMA –based technologies. Ufone, the mobile operator, has also introduced various Value Added Services, bringing new innovations to the hands of Pakistani youth.
Etisalat is an innovative organization which has helped the UAE to become one of the top 10 nations in the world in terms of the availability of new technologies, through the company's support and strategic vision on a number of government initiatives. Through the launch of innovative new technologies and its regional growth strategy, Etisalat aims to become one of the top 10 telecom operators in the world.
About Etisalat
Etisalat is a leading telecommunications corporation committed to consumers, businesses, international telecommunication companies, ISPs, content providers and mobile operators. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Etisalat is the largest operator in the Middle East and Africa regions with a market value in excess of AED 80 billion (US$20 billion) and annual revenues of approximately AED 30 billion (US$8 billion). Etisalat operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, a coverage area which reaches more than two billion people. To date, the group’s global subscriber base exceeds over 140 million subscribers through mobile and Landline voice and data services. To learn more, visit www.etisalat.ae.