Etisalat Egypt is a subsidiary of Etisalat U.A.E., the sole
telecommunications services provider in the United Arab Emirates from 1976 until
the arrival of Du in February 2007, and the first 3.5G network operator in
Egypt. Etisalat Egypt is one of 15 service providers managed by Etisalat in
the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Etisalat group currently has access to a
potential market of just below 1 billion subscribers and today Etisalat services
over 130 million subscribers including the total number of fixed-line,
Internet, mobile and television from each of its subsidiaries. In November
2007, Etisalat Egypt upgraded to 3.75G which is the marketing term for HSUPA.
The Uplink channel carries information from the mobile terminal to the network
such as file uploading, e-mail attachments and user response in
interactive games. HSUPA is an enhancement of 3.5G networks that
increases upload speeds. HSDPA stands for High Speed Downlink Packet access. A
Downlink channel carries information from the network to the mobile terminal
such as video and music downloads. Etisalat Egypt was the first mobile
operator in Egypt to offer Downlink speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s which is two
times faster than 3.5G downlink speeds. Today, Etisalat Egypt’s 2G and 3G robust
and high quality network covers and serves 99% of the population in Egypt,
with download speed reaching up to 84Mbit/s. Moreover, Etisalat Egypt is
the first and the only operator in Egypt that has an exclusive international
gateway. In order to complete Etisalat Egypt’s product portfolio, two
well-established ISPs were acquired and provide broadband services.
The incumbent was bought based on a consortium led by Etisalat U.A.E. in
July 2006. The current ownership structure of the company is
Etisalat U.A.E. with a share of 66% The Egyptian National Post Authority
with a 20% share, DAS Holdings with a 5% share,
DIFC LLC with a 5% share, Al Nabodah Investment Company with a
1.5% share, Technical Investment Company with a 1.5%
share and Mawarid Finance with a 1% share,
License The bidding went up to an all-time high
reaching finally E£16.7 billion and acquiring the 3.5G license as well [1]
On September 12, 2006, it was announced that the network will be built by
Ericsson of Sweden, and Huawei of China, at a cost of approximately 1.2 billion
US dollars [2]. Etisalat is one of three mobile
operators in Egypt and since it was acquired, it provided more than 3,000
job opportunities and is still increasing in size.
Despite entering the market late into the game, Etisalat was able to hit the 1
million subscribers mark only 50 days after launching on April 30, 2007.
Launch The official announcement of the launch
was on 1 May 2007. Along with announcing the 3G services launch in Cairo.
Services = Network and coverage =
Today, Etisalat Misr’s 2G and 3G network covers and serves 99% of the population
in Egypt, with more than 5000 cell sites all over the country.
With 3.75G technology, subscribers can: make video-call;
watch live TV; have access to high-speed internet
connection and download; have access to a mobile portal built
exclusively for Etisalat subscribers. 3.75G is the latest technology that
encapsulates some protocols like UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA.
Egypt Internet Shutdown On the evening of Thursday, January 27,
2011 – just two days after the 2011 Egyptian protests erupted across Egypt –
officials in the beleaguered government of Hosni Mubarak ordered the operators
of the country's main internet and mobile phone providers to suspend their
services. Egypt’s four main ISPs and its three main mobile phone companies
complied with the order. Etisalat, like Vodafone, issued a short statement
blaming the government for the suspension.
Market share As of November 30, 2012, Etisalat has
about 24.5 active subscribers from almost 95.5 million mobile subscribers
in Egypt. Internet Service
In early 2009 Etisalat has acquired two working ISP Nile On Line and EgyNet. In
sequence two subsidiaries were acquired also. Now Etisalat is offering ADSL
service along with the usual Mobile Services.
Sponsorship Etisalat has become the sole sponsor of
many things since its launch. = Sports sponsorships =
Etisalat signed a contract with the Egyptian football association to fully
sponsor the Egyptian football and so, The Egyptian football league name has
been changed to Etisalat Dawry دوري اتصالات, literally: Etisalat
league).which has become more competitive than ever, Moreover, the
Egyptian National Team won the African Cup Of Nations 08 under etisalat media
support. Etisalat sponsored the Egyptian
Paralympics committee On October 2011 Etisalat has signed a
new sponsorship deal with Ahly club, the most popular sports club in Egypt.
Etisalat held a grand ceremony attended by Mr. Hassan Hamdy, Ahly Chairman, Mr.
Gamal El Sadat Etisalat Egypt Chairman, and Saleh Al Abdooli Etisalat CEO. The
ceremony was marked by the attendance of the first team football and the release
of the new Ahly jersey which the team will use for the 2011-2012 season.
CSR “Origin” initiative The company launched its renowned
initiative “Origin” to tackle and contribute in solving the water problem
on 4 frontiers. The first frontier is installing water connections for
underprivileged families. The second frontier is building water purification
stations in areas where people drink contaminated well or underground water.
The third frontier is funding irrigation solutions that help preserve water and
solve disputes amongst farmers in the countryside. The fourth frontier is
helping patients of kidney failure get better treatment through supplying
public hospitals with kidney dialysis machines and kidney dialysis stations
that increase the efficiency of machines.
Since the launch in 2009, around 517,500 unfortunate citizens have benefitted
from this initiative, as well as around 7,500kidney failure patients are treated
on monthly basis. Moreover, Etisalat Misr is currently
undertaking a new “green” concept in its cell sites, where the company is
installing cell sites that work using solar and/or wind energy. Etisalat
Misr’s plan is to expand extensively in this new, state-of-the-art technology
over the coming period. References
External links Etisalat Egypt