Abu Dhabi: Etisalat has introduced a new plan offering calls at a reduced rate to a number of Asian countries.

The ‘Wasel Homeland’ plan for prepaid mobile customers, offers a discounted rate of 99 fils per minute to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, at any time during special off-peak hours from 5pm to 9am, Saturday to Thursday, and throughout the day on Friday and public holidays.

There is no rental or subscription fee. All local calls will be charged at 35 fils per minute for the first minute and a flat day rate of 30 fils per minute from the second minute onwards. All other international calls will not be affected and will be charged as per the normal rate and timings.

Customers can subscribe by sending an SMS, ‘e99’, to 1010. Alternatively they can subscribe through IVR by calling 125.

Commenting on the new plan, Khalifa Al Shamsi, Senior Vice President, Marketing, etisalat said: "The new Wasel Homeland plan is in line with our strategy to provide additional value to our customers, by enabling them to save more, while conveniently reaching out to their family and friends in their home countries, on a more frequent basis. This plan not only provides tremendous value to our Wasel prepaid customers, but also enables them to take advantage of these attractive rates on Etisalat’s high-quality network that covers the entire nation.

“Furthermore, customers can now pick and choose from various ‘value’ options provided by etisalat, such as Super Off-Peak plan, Favorite Country plan, Global Friends and Family plan, and now the Wasel Homeland plan, thereby providing customised options based on their diverse requirements.”