Sultan was behind the launch of the highly successful MobiNil in Egypt in 1998, and last year was behind the launch of du, the UAE’s second telecoms operator, which is 40% owned by the UAE Federal Government, 20% by Mubadala Development Company, 20% by TECOM Investments and 20% by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du. In November, the company announced that it had successfully crossed the one-million customer mark, boosted by a retail network that now numbers 16 shops scattered strategically across all seven emirates.
du currently provides fixed line, Internet and pay TV services over cable in some of the free zones of Dubai, following its purchase of TECOM Investments’ telecom assets. It launched its mobile service in February 2007, and although this did not trigger the dramatic price war that some predicted, both du and incumbent provider Etisalat have offered a wide range of discounted deals since competition began.
Follow us on
