Dubai: Etisalat’s first-quarter revenues from the UAE grew 11 per cent to Dh7.2 billion compared to Dh6.50 billion during the same period last year due to strong performance in voice and data in both the fixed and mobile segments.

The active subscriber base grew to 11.4 million subscribers in the first quarter, representing a year-on-year growth of 4 per cent to 8.9 million.

“Our position in the UAE remains as strong as ever despite growth in regional operations. Subscribers to our range of services continue to increase and we are constantly looking to bring new solutions to market,” Ahmad Julfar, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat, said in a statement.

In this quarter, he said that Etisalat launched trials of advanced Single Carrier 400 Gbps technology in its transmission network, which will bring greater speeds to customers and continue to support the government’s drive for Smart Cities.

“The results quoted by Etisalat are indeed impressive and a lot of this can attributed to the significant investments in R & D [research and development] it has made. Innovation is now playing a much stronger role in their market-planning activities and the need of understanding their customers’ requirements will be required as data, smart initiatives and IoT [Internet of Things] continue to push boundaries,” said Paul Black, director of telecoms and media at research firm International Data Corporation Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

The telecom operator’s revenue from international operations, which operates in 19 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, soared 69 per cent to Dh5.6 billion; representing 44 per cent of the group’s consolidated revenue.

Etisalat completed the sale of the six West African operations of Atlantique Telecom to Maroc Telecom after it bought a 53 per cent stake in the African operator for €4.14 billion (Dh16 bi8llion) last May. It also acquired additional equity in its subsidiary Canar and increased its stake to 92.3 per cent.

The net addition of 28 million subscribers during the quarter was mainly due to the consolidation of Maroc Telecom and strong growth in the UAE, Nigeria, and Afghanistan.

Maroc Telecom’s consolidated revenue for the first quarter amounted to Dh2.9 billion.

The subscriber base for Maroc Telecom was 51.6 million customers, representing a year-on-year growth of 32 per cent, while Nigeria witnessed 19 per cent year-on-year growth to 22.2 million subscribers.

Julfar said that data is the future and “we must develop ways of making this profitable for our shareholders and of delivering the future solutions that will help governments, businesses and individuals maximise its potential.”

Etisalat sees 5G, M2M and the Internet of Things opening up more exciting possibilities about how governments can deliver services, how businesses operate and how individuals live their lives.

“[The] first quarter has provided a strong start to the year, but, in line with our business strategy, we will continue to expand our service offering across our footprint in order to diversify our revenue base and cement our regional leadership position,” he said.