du announces launch date
The federation's second mobile operator du is to start services on 11 February, almost a year after it won the licence. By beginning its operations then it will narrowly avoid the prospect of being fined by the telecoms regulator.
The start-up comes on the back of the long-awaited interconnectivity agreement signed between du and monopoly operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) in late December.
This allows du's customers to use Etisalat's GSM infrastructure while it rolls out its own network. At launch it will be available to 85 per cent of the UAE, with more remote areas relying on the Etisalat network.
Some 500,000 customers signed up to du's pre-launch campaign in December and January.
Du was awarded the country's second mobile licence in early 2006. Under the terms of its licence agreement, du could have been fined if it did not launch services by a 12 February deadline set by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (MEED 19:1:07).
The federation's second mobile operator du is to start services on 11 February, almost a year after it won the licence. By beginning its operations then it will narrowly avoid the prospect of being fined by the telecoms regulator.
The start-up comes on the back of the long-awaited interconnectivity agreement signed between du and monopoly operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) in late December. This allows du's customers to use Etisalat's GSM infrastructure while it rolls out its own network. At launch it will be available to 85 per cent of the UAE, with more remote areas relying on the Etisalat network. Some 500,000 customers signed up to du's pre-launch campaign in December and January. Du was awarded the country's second mobile licence in early 2006. Under the terms of its licence agreement, du could have been fined if it did not launch services by a 12 February deadline set by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (MEED 19:1:07).This content is only available to full MEED package subscribers (MEED magazine and MEED.com).
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