etisalat-owned firm vies for contract with competitor

Dubai: An etisalat-owned telecommunications clearinghouse firm said on Tuesday it is vying for a contract with du, etisalat's new competitor, to settle its international roaming accounts.

Emirates Data Clearing House (EDCH) on Tuesday celebrated its official formation after it was spun out of etisalat in September, though the telecommunications company still wholly owns it.

EDCH settles roaming charges for its clients when subscribers use the networks of other telecoms while travelling abroad.

The separation will help the clearinghouse, one of only five such firms worldwide and the only one headquartered in the Middle East, work with other regional telecoms that earlier expressed concern they would be giving information away to a company owned by its competitor.

"du is coming soon and we are hoping to work with them, because they need the services that EDCH is operating," said Ali Al Sharid, chairman of etisalat services.

At a press conference yesterday, du CEO Osman Sultan initially said he would not work with EDCH because of its relation to etisalat. After hearing of its official separation from etisalat, he soon amended himself to say he had no objection considering an EDCH proposal.

EDCH is the clearinghouse for 47 telecom operators such as etisalat, its parent company, as well as regional players Orascom, Vodacom, MTC, Celtel, and Wataniya. According to the company, it holds a 65 per cent market share among telecoms in the Middle East and Africa.

Ahmad Al Mehyas, general manager of EDCH, said: "His company was also soliciting private placement bids from the mobile operators it has as clients. Almehyas said revenues were growing in excess of 10 per cent. He said the value of calls it cleared in 2006 was $750 million, compared to $600 million in 2005."