Etisalat in talks over India expansion

TALKS UNDERWAY: Etisalat has held meetings with Spice and others over investing in India's telecoms market.

UAE telecom Etisalat said on Wednesday it held meetings with India's Spice Communications and others about possibly making investments to enter the Indian telecom market.

Shares of Spice, which plans to list its mobile phone unit this year after a $100 million initial public offering (IPO), have surged almost 30% during the last three trading days. They ended up 10.24% on Wednesday.

"India is a very attractive market for Etisalat and we are studying different market entry strategies to determine the most appropriate fit," Etisalat Chairman Mohammad Omran said in a statement.

"We have also entered into direct meetings with various entities, amongst them Spice Communications," Omran said, though no agreements have been made.

The second-largest Arab telecom company by market value is also looking at bidding for an Indian telecom licence, he said.

State-controlled and privately held Gulf Arab telecom companies, like Etisalat, Kuwait's Zain and Qatar-based Qtel, have stepped up foreign acquisitions in the last three years, buoyed by rising earnings in the world's biggest oil exporting region.

Etisalat operates in 16 countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In March, it started a company in India to develop software products and mobile phone applications. (Reuters)

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USER COMMENTS (4 COMMENTS)

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No Difference
Posted by Rainigade, Dubai, UAE on 6 April 2008 at 12:22 UAE time


On reading Mohammed Raza's comments, I experience complete deja vu, because I experienced the very same with Du. The level of service is appalling and talking to call centre agents is like trying to converse with a recorded message.

Such appalling standards cannot succeed in India, where the service market is booming and competition is fierce.

Maybe both Etisalat and Du should have a taste of the REAL world.

Etisalat - Welcome to India
Posted by Richard M.Wason, Dubai, uae on 5 April 2008 at 11:20 UAE time


Dear Etisalat, We welcome you to India and taste the competition. With a bigger customer base we hope you will imporve the serivce and reduce the call rate to India(which is one of the highest in the world).

Etislat Internet service
Posted by swamy reddy, dubai, India on 5 April 2008 at 08:44 UAE time


Etisalat Internet service so outdated and so expensive compare to any developed countries like Europe and India. Internet service availabe in In on USB any where any time brodband Internet.

UAE no competition no proper service like any other country.
Service should be competitive.

Regards

Swamy Reddy

Etisalat is not used to competition & cannot compete in India
Posted by Mohammed Raza, Dubai, UAE on 3 April 2008 at 11:53 UAE time


Where in the world you are left without an internet connection even a month after moving from one place to the other within the same city? No it is not a remote uninhabited island in the pacific, but our very own Dubai.

All the talk about Etisalat being the one of the best operators is nothing else but bragging & self praise. I requested to move the internet to my new location 3 days before moving to the new place and my phone was connected after about 20 days. The internet technicians came and connected the internet 5 days later, which worked for a few hours and went dead. I’ve called the Etisalat called centre hundreds of times – I am given a complaint number and told that it will be attended to within 48 hours. Call 48 hours later they say your complaint has been escalated and the technician will be there shortly. Two days later I call again, I am told the technician has closed the compliant after attending to it – didn’t he call you?? NO!! In that case we’ll open another compliant – same cycle starts again, you call 2 days later to get an ‘escalated complaint number’ and then 2 days later your complaint is closed without being called and then you open a new complaint.

Now comes the icing on the cake – I have been billed for the month of March without using the internet at all.

Can you go to another operator – oh, but there no other service provider in the country (there is one for the namesake, but it since it is ‘owned’ by Etisalat, it cannot compete).

Etisalat only keeps talking about being the best. There is no Wimax, there is no VOIP, service is pathetic, but we are the best. Etisalat does not offer the latest technology available for internet & mobile services but still claims to be the best. Etisalat cannot survive real competition.

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