Dubai: The UAE's second telecommunications company, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), or 'du' as the service operator is to become known, has set itself the target of acquiring 30 per cent of the UAE market within three years.

Sultan Osman, the CEO of EITC, said it will achieve this by offering better technology, customer care and by marketing.

Price competition will be used. "We will have a range of prices for a range of packages. However pricing needs to be based on a sound economic equation."

EITC would not confirm whether the UAE's commercial free zones would retain unrestricted access to the Internet. The free zones are presently exempt by bylaw from the proxy server.

"Whether they continue to be so will be a matter for the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA)," said EITC chairman Ahmad Bin Byat. "However I am sure that the TRA would not want to harm business."

Tecom, which had been the operator for Dubai's free zones was acquired by EITC for Dh1.2 billion last month.

The TRA was also used as a shield for questions regarding Voice Over IP, a technology lowering the costs of telephony elsewhere.

While Bin Byat admitted international providers were getting used to their being "two types of service with two levels of pricing", what happens in the UAE will continue to depend on the instructions of its regulator.

Sultan would neither confirm nor deny whether it had already awarded the contract for technology infrastructure.

Some providers Gulf News spoke believe it must have. It will take at least six months from the signing of the contract to provide a mobile service, Siemens told Gulf News at the 3GSM World Congress last week. That's a tight deadline if EITC's du wants an operation up and running this year.

What Sultan would confirm is that there will be no old technology in the company's offering to consumers. The infrastructure will be 3G and 4G. No news was provided on the services du would provide to take advantage of the technology.

Sultan confirmed that the operator will start with mobile services in 2006 while fixed line and broadband service can be expected to begin rolling out sometime in 2007.

The company will start with metropolitan and commercial zones with the exact locations, and specific services, dependent upon customer demand.

Fixed line services will take longer. Not only is the infrastructure development more labour intensive, EITC still has to negotiate with Etisalat regarding pricing and the creation of a seamless network in the country.

"Etisalat are not used to these kinds of discussions," said Bin Byat. "They are a monopoly. That's not to give them an excuse, but it does mean we have factored in delays."

If agreement cannot be reached Bin Byat stated EITC would go to arbitration. "[Ultimately] the laws are very clear."

WHAT DU MEANS

"The "du" brand was designed to embody EITC's commitment to entrenching excellent service standards as well as the values and diversity of the UAE.

Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman, said "du" embodies the basic values of the company in building close relationships with consumers that are friendly and honest and

guarantee them an excellent service experience. At the same time it expresses the company's confidence in its abilities and its strong ambitions.

Where market share will come from

EITC chairman Ahmad Bin Byat believes gaining 30 per cent market share is aggressive but realistic.

On EITC's side Bin Byat argues is the fact that the country is growing. The population has grown "nine per cent since 1995."

Bin Byat also noted the dominance of the expatriate workforce, and noted they had specific concerns such as roaming which du would address. "All EITC customers will have roaming in all countries."

He noted also that while the country enjoys a high teledensity, the sector has a whole has enjoyed 12 per cent year on year growth in value.

"The easiest way to see this if we examine Etisalat's revenues," noted Bin Byat. EITC hopes du can tap into this growth. It is far easier winning new business than converting existing business.

Bin Byat also hopes du's youth and focus will give it an edge. "Etisalat has so many things to offer its commitment to [everyone of its brands will be] lower."

Finally EITC hopes to gain from customer churn. In all markets where there is competition, telcos suffer from between 5-15 per cent of customers switching between operators. du will be the sole beneficiary of pent up dissatisfaction that has, until now, not been able to express itself.