“Telecommunicationsconnects the unconnected,gives banking facilities tothe un-banked, offers accessto education and provideshealthcare provision to eventhe most remote, rural areas.In short, telecommunicationsis a growth engine andnowhere is that impact feltmore sharply than in thedeveloping markets of Africaand Asia where the multipliereffect on GDP is significant.”Said Ahmad Julfar, EtisalatGroup CEO Indeed, EtisalatGroup recently launched theWorld’s most comprehensivemobile commerce in Nigeria.This is the first time in theworld when customers canaccess a Mobile Commerceservice of multiple schemesand banks through theintuitive user interfaceinstalled directly on consumerSIM cards. The user interfaceis accessible in English, Hausa,Igbo and Yoruba languageson any type of mobile phone,from the low-end basic phoneto the most sophisticatedmobile device.Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfarwas appointed Group ChiefExecutive Officer of Etisalatin 2011. Today as he leads theGroup operations drivingEtisalat’s Group strategyacross the footprint andrealizing the full potential ofthe company’s operations.Under his leadership theGlobal Telecom Industry iswitnessing the evolution ofEtisalat into a world classtelecommunications operatorthat is meeting the challengesof delivering innovativeservices in emerging markets .Just this year, we have seenEtisalat achieve severalmilestones, including thelaunch of 3G services inAfghanistan, which was thefirst operator to do so, aswell as in Pakistan. It is alsoimpressive to see EtisalatGroup still continues to deliverinnovative solutions across itsmature and emerging markets,such as LTE and FTTH in theUAE and KSA, in addition tomHealth and mCommercecustomized services percountry requirements acrossits global markets.Etisalat Group during thelast 12 months have seen thesuccessful implementationof its consolidation anddiversification strategy,focusing on consolidationthrough maximising its valueof the assets that the groupenjoys while diversifying bybuilding partnerships anddelivering innovative solutionsthat utilize their networkinvestments to deliver highspeed data.In the past five years, theclimate surrounding Gulfoperator-fuelled expansionhas altered immensely,between adding scale inits territories, to a chesslikereview of what nextmove makes strategic senseand how it should be bestexecuted. Etisalat has beenalso focusing on rationalizingand optimizing its costs torealise economies of scaleby driving down operationalcosts and CAPEX.During our last meeting withMr. Julfar we asked him abouthis views on Etisalat’ s currentperformance and futurebusiness outlook.Julfar said :” Etisalat isexperiencing growth and thefuture outlook is positive. Overthe first half of this year, wehave a growth of AED 3.67bn.Our key growth markets havebeen the UAE, KSA, Nigeria,Pakistan, Egypt, while themajority of the growth hasbeen from calls and data. Datagrowth is positive in the UAE,Egypt and KSA and we expectthis to continue to increasewith the increased importanceof data, including eLife andmobile.”Recognized by GSMA with world mostprestigious telecom awards, Etisalat Groupcontinue to drive the telecommunicationevolution in the region.“This is an era of consolidationand diversification.” He addedTo consolidate effectivelyEtisalat is also focusing onrationalizing and optimizingcosts to realise economiesof scale by driving downoperational costs and CAPEX.Etisalat’s focus will remain onmarkets that can drive growthvia data connectivity, LTE andFTTH, while allowing us tohelp these countries deliverinnovative services to driveeconomic growth and socialdevelopment.It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ifthe communities, businesses,governments and people inthe countries in which weoperate are successful, we aresuccessful, too. By providingthem with the tools to dothings better, more efficientlyand more quickly, anddelivering services that helpimprove health, education,finance and trade, we are ableto do have a positive impact.Mobile broadbandconnectivity is a catalyst foreconomic growth and socialdevelopment. Nowhere is theeffect more powerful thanin emerging markets wherethe lack of legacy hardwireconnectivity infrastructuremeans that nations likePakistan can leapfrogtechnologies.The number of peopleconnected to mobilebroadband is forecast torise tenfold by 2015 and itis smartphones and mobilebroadband connectivity thatare the Internet enablerswhich create the physicalenvironment for economiesto grow.We look to the future with acombination of confidenceand determination and expectthe future to throw up manychallenges,” says Julfar, recognisingthat telco’s today areoperating in an environmentthat is significantly altered totraditional telecom sector ofold. “Change in the world oftelecommunications is a constantfactor with new businessmodels, and we are leadingthis change.”Etisalat’s meteoric risecontinues to show investorsand customers that it isa leading global player.With groundbreaking newtechnologies and steadyoperations across the world,Etisalat looks forward to avery promising future.16 <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>www.teletimesinternational.com
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