New telecom company buys Tecom

Dubai: Emirates Integrated Telecom Company's (EITC), the country new telecom operator, acquired Tecom for Dh1.2 billion in January, a senior official said. Tecom provides services within the UAE's free trade zones.

The acquisition gives EITC instant expertise in providing telecom services to 19,000 customers.

EITC yesterday launched 'du', its brand identity.

It is not clear whether EITC will have to give up Tecom's monopoly in the free trade zones at the same time as Etisalat gives up its monopoly over the rest of the UAE.

Ahmad Bin Byat, EITC Chairman, used the acquisition to justify a Dh3 share price offering. The company "is not new", he said. "We already service 19,000 customers and want that to be 100,000 by the year-end."

EITC's decision to acquire Tecom will be part of its goal to win 30 per cent of the UAE market within three years.