Business | Telecoms
du to charge calls on per-second basis
du said at a press conference on Tuesday that it would charge its mobile customers on a per-second pricing plan, but said it still did not have an official launch date.
- By Ivan Gale, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 16, 2006
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
- Osman Sultan.
Dubai: du said at a press conference on Tuesday that it would charge its mobile customers on a per-second pricing plan, but said it still did not have an official launch date.
"The most significant impact in terms of cost will be for short phone calls as it would not be fair to charge someone for a full minute or on increments of 30 seconds for a call that lasts only a few moments," said CEO Osman Sultan.
The pricing scheme may allow the telecom to offer lower calling costs than its competitor, etisalat, without directly violating the laws of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which recently penalized etisalat over a recent promotions campaign.
Because incumbent operator etisalat charges its customers for the first minute and then per 30 seconds, shorter calls could be cheaper for du customers.
At the press conference where du was widely expected to announce a commercial launch date, Sultan said du's products and services are fully ready, but is still resolving technical issues over sharing infrastructure with etisalat.
When asked if this meant du could miss its target of launching by year-end, Sultan declined to say definitively.
Related Links
"We are working with etislat in order to be able to resolve them, but there were more obstacles than expected," he said. Some call towers are unable to handle traffic from more than one operator, forcing the company to look for alternate sites.
Sultan said he did not have the proper "visibility" to announce a launch date because much depends on how many subscribers sign up.
du is set to announce details of its number booking campaign on November 19, when it will give a date when customers will be allowed to sign-up. Based on the strength of the response, Sultan said he would then be able to announce a commercial launch date.
du used the press conference to outline several other details. The telecom has tapped Axiom Telecom as a retail distribution partner, which owns more than 200 stores throughout the UAE, in addition to operating its own storefronts.
With its mobile payment service, du will enable customers to recharge their line or pay mobile monthly bills using their mobile phones.
du also revealed a print and TV branding campaign with the tagline "add life to life," and said in the coming weeks it would also unveil aspects of its multimedia and business applications.
These include broadband access and mobile TV, features that will help the company reach its goal of 30 per cent market penetration within three years.
More from Telecoms
More from Business
Business Editor's choice
-
China breaks West's solar monopoly
Some countries in the world, especially Germany and the United States, have made considerable efforts to invest in developing solar energy cells
-
Burberry store spree will cut profit
Trenchcoat maker forges ahead with investment strategy targeting emerging markets
-
Laws needed to spur region bond markets
UAE Central Bank calls for creation of a centralised Sharia board to facilitate the sale of sukuk
