Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, Du.

200px The du logo in use since 2006
Type	Public company
Traded as	DFM: du
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	2005 (2005)
Headquarters	Al-Salam Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Head office)
Area served	Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain
Key people	Ahmad Bin Byat (Chairman) Osman Sultan (CEO)
Products	Fixed line and mobile telephony, Internet services, digital television
Revenue	US$ 2.77 billion (2012)
Net income	US$ 540 million (2012)
Number of employees	2,000
Subsidiaries	EITC Investment Holdings Limited
Website	www.du.ae

The Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) is a telecom operator in the United Arab Emirates. Although Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company is its legal name, it was commercially rebranded as du in February 2006.

History

Du’s official name is Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC). It was commercially branded as du in February 2006. The company had 4.5 million subscribers as of the end of March 2011. The company launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE and it reported its 2008 full year results in February, revealing it had added 1.88 million mobile customers over the 12 months. Revenue of $1.08bn was 157% up on the previous year. Before the launch of services in 2006, shareholders offered 20% of their shares in an IPO. Emirates Bank and Emirates Financial services managed the share sale.

Ownership

EITC is 39.50% owned by Emirates Investment Authority (EIA), 20.08% by Mubadala Development Company, 20% by Emirates Communications & Technology Company LLC (ETC) and 20.92% by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.

Sales & expansion

In 2012 du achieved like for like revenues of AED 10.16 billion (reported revenue AED 9.8 billion), an increase of 14.71% on 2011. The company acquired 1,241,251 net new mobile customers and they estimate overall market share as 48.7% and value share as 32.5% in their Consolidated Financial Statements for 2012..

Mobile data revenue increased by 74% on 2011 taking overall data revenues to AED 1.76 billion for 2012, an increase from 2011 data revenues at AED 1.01 billion.

The company’s EBITDA growth for the 2012 was AED 3.99 billion, 37.10%, representing an EBITDA margin of 39.37% for 2012. Net profit before royalty grew by 55.81% to reach AED 2.82 billion in 2012. The Federal Government confirmed the royalty charge for 2012 at 5% of revenue and 17.5% of profit, resulting in net profit after royalty of AED 1.98 billion.

Financial results

Total revenue announced in du’s annual report 2012 in AED millions is:

2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
2,951	5,339	7,074	8,855 (Gross); 8,539 (Net)	10,157 (Gross); 9,842 (Net)

2012 revenue split (FY) was as follows:

Telephony - mobile	Telephony - fixed	Broadcasting	Wholesale
78.1%	16%	1.7%	4.3%

Services & products

Du offers mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses. The company also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters. Subscribers to du mobile services can be identified by the dialing prefix 055 and 052.

On February 11, 2007, du launched its own mobile service with call tariffs almost identical to those of Etisalat, thus eliminating any possibility of price competition between the two providers.

Products and services promoted by du include du Live!, Pay As You Go prepaid plan with its WoW recharge card, Emirati Plan, du TV+, the TV/Internet dual-play package Talk and Surf and the TV/Internet/Landline triple-play package Talk, Surf and Watch.

Among du's services and campaigns launch were its Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and businesses, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, and the prepaid plan’s recharge card 'WoW', which offers customers the choice between 'more credit', 'more time' and now the 'more international' recharge option with additional credit on international calls). du also has an online service portal SelfCare for bill payment and managing subscriptions for its customers.

For businesses, services include Closed Business User Group free calling, and preferred International Destinations. du Broadcast Services division brings scalable media technology platforms and telecommunication solutions to the broadcast community through its teleport (Samacom) and Master Control Room (MCR) facilities.

In Feb 2015, du started offering VoLTE through its 4G LTE network.

Shops

The total number of du stores in the UAE is 56 in May 2013, up from 44 in March 2012. In addition, du offers its products and services at more than 3000 authorised dealers in the UAE and through its online shop, accessible at http://shop.du.ae.

Corporate governance

Emiratisation in the company

du currently has an overall employee Emiratisation level of 31%, with 41% of hired UAE Nationals in executive positions. The telecom company has an established Emiratisation scheme, Masar, and regularly participates in career fairs across the UAE to capture the attention of young Emiratis.

In 2012, du doubled the number of Emirati staff in their fully Emirati-managed and operated Fujairah-based UAE National Call Centre up to 120 employees, 90% of which are females. Also in 2012, 146 Emiratis have successfully graduated from their 18-month Masar Graduate Trainee programme.

Corporate Governance & CSR

du has been involved in several corporate governance initiatives in the UAE, Middle East and the USA, promoting best practice through workshops, sponsorships and many more initiatives. Included among these is the sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Corporate Governance Conference, and of the Hawkamah-OECD 6th annual regional corporate governance conference. Du has also applied systematic compliance, embedded within the Corporate Governance system of the company, with increased environmental initiatives following energy savings directives, as directed by Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman of Du.

Further efforts to improve corporate governance include training and development, such as DLA Piper workshop on Corporate Governance, Du's Sustainable Development Report - Materiality Session Briefing and quarterly industry trends.

Du has been ranked first in the S&P/Hawkamah Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Index 2011. The ranking comes as a result of the telecommunications company's sustained efforts to enhancing corporate governance standards within the company and community, which have boosted Du up from last year's ranking to achieve the position as a leader and implementer of best practice.

Entertainment & Sponsorships

du Live!

du Live! is the entertainment platform for du, and its slogan is ‘bringing you the best in live entertainment’. Through the du Live! platform, du sponsors concerts and live events in the UAE, both in du Arena, du Forum and other venues. Entertainment sponsorship under the du Live! umbrella included music concerts and festival such as the annual du World Music Festival, which hosted names like Gipsy Kings, Sonu Nigam, Natalie Cole, Sting, Andrea Bocelli among others. The platform also sponsors sporting events such as X-Fighters and F1 in UAE

As part of the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival 2011, du was also the official sponsor for the year’s du Jazz Garden, which took place from 8 to 15 February. The Jazz Festival in Dubai featured British and International bands, in addition to supporting the main Jazz Festival from 16 to 18 February 2011.

du Arena

The crowd at Bocelli's concert at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE sponsored by du's entertainment platform du Live!

The du Arena is an open-air venue on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with a standing capacity for 25,000 people, which was called Yas Arena before the rebranding in May 2012 following a 4-year deal between ‘’du’’ and the Flash Entertainment, but no value for the deal was announced publicly. The deal marks the Middle East’s first naming rights partnership.

The rebranding preceded the first Madonna concert, part of her MDNA tour, in the Arab region on 3 and 4 June 2012. du and Think Flash revamped the venue for Madonna’s concert, including building up a new 23m x 54m stage and developing a complex pyrotechnic and lighting system. Grass has been relaid, gravel removed, tarmac walkways laid down throughout the arena and a central public plaza area featuring merchandise, retail and entertainment has been installed.

The du Arena has hosted many international musicians under the telecom’s entertainment platform du Live! in addition to Madonna, including Eric Clapton, Kylie Minogue, Nickelback, Eminem, Andrea Bocelli, Metallica, Kanye West, Sting, Creamfields dance music festival featuring DJs such as Tiesto, David Guetta and Armin Van Buuren.

du Forum

The du Forum is an indoor live entertainment venue on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi also part of the sponsorship deal that du signed to get the naming and branding rights of the du Arena. The inddor venue hosts live performances and music events, and has hosted in the past Chris Tucker, and The Jacksons in their Unity World Tour. du has signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Abu Dhabi’s Flash Entertainment, which had the emirate’s concert venue Yas Arena rebranded to du Arena, and also the Flash Forum renamed to du Forum.

The du World Music Festival

The du World Music Festival has been organized annually by du Live! and their partners since 2011. The first du World Music Festival took place at the Burj Khalifa Steps in Downtown Dubai and The Walk in JBR between 26 February to 25 March 2011, with performances by top-class artists from around the world such as Tamer Hosny, Mona Amarcha, Janet Kapuya, Mashrou’ Leila, Amit Chatterjee Alliance, Spongecola, Wust el Balad.

The second du World Music Festival took place also at the DownTown Burj Khalifa Steps, took place between 7–16 March 2012. Free and ticketed events included performances by Gabrielle, The Gipsy Kings, Amr Diab, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Stanley Clarke, Salif Keita, Sarah Geronimo, George Benson.

The third du World Music Festival took place between 22 March 2013 - 6 April 2013, and included famous names as Andrea Bocelli, Natalie Cole, Guns N’ Roses, Kadim Al Sahir, Amr Diab, Eraserheads, Sonu Nigam, Train, Frank Gamable, Papon among others. This edition included performances at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre in Dubai, and in Ras Al Khaimah.

Corporate Affairs

Senior management

In its operation period since 2006, du had had just one Chief Executive, Osman Sultan. Sultan was previously CEO at Orascom’s MobiNil operations in Egypt.

Senior Management

Chief Executive Officer	Osman Sultan
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer	Ananda Bose
Chief Operations Officer	Farid Faraidooni
Chief Commercial Officer	Fahad al Hassawi
Chief Human Capital & Administration Officer	Ibrahim Nassir
Advisor	Yatinder Mahajan
Chief Financial Officer	Amer Kazim
Executive Vice President, Brand & Communications	Hala Badri
Senior Vice President - Customer Operations	Ismail Mohammed
Executive Vice President, Network Development & Operations	Saleem Al Balooshi
Senior Vice President, Information Technology	Walid Kamal
Executive Vice President, Corporate Services	Rashid El Sheikh

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Chairman	Ahmad Bin Byat
Vice Chairman	Younis Al Khoori
Board Member	Fadhel Al Ali
Board Member	Ziad Galadari
Board Member	Waleed Al Muhairi
Board Member	Abdulhamid Saeed
Board Member	Abdulla Al Shamsi
Board Member	Mohammad Al Suwaidi
Board Member	Saeed Al Yateem
Board Member	Jassem Al Zaabi

Awards and honors

Business excellence awards for 2012

• “Best Corporate Governance Award” from World Finance Magazine UK
• “Broadband Operator of the Year” at the TMT Finance Middle East 2012 Awards
• “Excellence in GIS Implementation Award” at GISWORX 2012
• “The M+Health Award” for the Best Health Care Initiative by a Telecom Provider at 2012 Hospital Build and Infrastructure Awards
• “Best mhealth app” award at The Mobile Show Middle East 2012
• Named “Best mobile broadband network in the Middle East and Africa 2012” by ARC Chart, an independent research and consulting firm
• “Best Enterprise Service Award” for the Executive Plan service at The Telecoms World Awards
• “Telco Broadcast Project of the Year” award at Broadcast Pro ME Awards for datamena, du’s carrier-neutral transit and content hub
• “Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame Award for Executing Strategy
• “Top Middle East Operator” award by CommsMEA Magazine

Certification awards for 2012

• ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification accredited as a sign of excellence in health, safety and environmentally-friendly practices
• TL9000 certification for Network Development Department; the first company in the Middle East to be awarded this certification
• du Retail Shop at Fujairah City Centre was awarded the Platinum “LEED® Green Building Certification”; the highest LEED ranking possible

Honors for 2012

• Honored by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai for our support for the Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST)

Criticism

The UAE telecom market is highly restricted, with both major players being largely government owned. There is little real competition, with the choice of provider generally determined by geographic location. du typically has a monopoly on freezones, while Etisalat has a monopoly elsewhere. As a result, contrary to the UAE's aspirations to be a major global IT hub, broadband internet provision in the UAE is among the slowest and most expensive in the world (e.g. a price of AED 299 for 10Mbit/s - which is around US$82), with a current maximum available speed of 500 Mbit/s.

Censorship

In March 2008, Du began selectively blocking VOIP traffic, preventing customers from using the computer-to-phone functionality of VOIP systems. The blocking is justified on the grounds that computer-to-phone VOIP services are illegal under UAE telecom law. Both of the telecoms providers in the UAE derive a large proportion of their income from expatriates making expensive international calls to their home countries.

However, a specific exemption in the telecom law permits the use of VOIP for computer-to-computer calls, and so it is still possible to access VOIP websites, download VOIP software, set up accounts and use the software to make computer-to-computer calls, both audio and video. If a computer-to-phone call is attempted, it will typically fail to connect unless a VPN is used (see below).

On April 14, 2008, du started instituting the same widespread censorship of the web that has been practised by Etisalat for some years. Any attempt to access content deemed 'inappropriate' by the UAE censor results in a 'blocked' page. As well as pornography, blocking includes blogs, forums and news articles that are critical of the UAE. Some websites that do not contain banned content are also blocked due to the nature of the software used to automatically identify potentially controversial material, however users are able to submit banned websites for human evaluation using a contact link provided on the censor page (see below).

DNS resolvers

• DNS server 1: 94.200.200.200
• DNS server 2: 91.74.74.74

See also

• Etisalat
• Communications in the United Arab Emirates

External links

• du corporate website
• TECOM
• Mubadala Development Company
• Cygnus Telecom, A satellite service providing company