African and Middle Eastern telecommunications provider Etisalat has reached a milestone with 150-million subscribers.
CEO Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar says that Etisalat, which operates across 15 markets, is on course to achieve 100% fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) penetration in the United Arab Emirates – a world-first.
“We were the first network in the Middle East to launch GSM, Internet services, 3-G and LTE,” says Julfar, speaking at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona this week.
“What is fascinating in this dynamic growth journey is the transformational role that mobile plays – to enrich people’s lives. At no time in human history has one technology revolutionized the way we do business, the way we are entertained, and ultimately, the way we live.”
Mobily, Etisalat’s operating brand in Saudi Arabia, is the second largest operator in the Kingdom and has one of the world’s busiest data networks with 1,3 petabytes consumed daily.
Julfar adds that the company is also actively participating in various Mobile for Development programmes in Africa.
He says the telecommunications sector is entering a new era, with the most critical driver of growth being “the ability of the telecom providers to adapt, change and innovate”.
Noting the way customers are migrating online services from computers to their smart phones, he adds: “We see a new wave of connectivity, where Big Data meets Big Community and where the demand for products and services is outgrowing any other industry.”
Calling on the global players to work together, Julfar says: “What we need now is for all stakeholders – regulators and partners – to work closer together, align their interests, and move this industry forward to a brighter future. This demands moving from a mind-set of competitive value destruction to collaborative value addition.”