Dubai: Telecom operator du is talking business. And the businesses, particularly of the small and mid-sized persuasion, that the message is targeting are listening.

"In the past, telecom offerings only catered to two ends of the spectrum, which often did not meet the requirements of SMEs," said Farid Faraidooni, chief commercial officer.

"Therefore we have strived to specifically customise packages which not only meet the requirements of this sector but also offer value and variety. What's more, du reduced its corporate entry barrier to make its offerings more accessible to the SMEs."

Indeed, while the dividing lines are more or less clear among the larger corporate houses and their preferred telecom partner, it's less so in the SME space. In other words, these business owners can be persuaded to switch loyalties if telecom providers can convince them with the right packages.

A fact that's not lost on Faraidooni. "The earlier version of the Business Super Plan included international and national minutes only as part of the bundle," he said. "As per market feedback over past months, we enhanced this plan by adding international SMS, national SMS and national data.

"Business customers can now get more than three times the value back compared with double the value back in previous Business Super Plans."

Leveraging opportunities

And this package was designed specifically for with the small and mid-sized businesses in du's sights.

The heightened emphasis on business clients makes for a lot of commercial sense for du. By planting a firm foothold in this category, du can be even better positioned to leverage opportunities on the residential side once the UAE's telecom regulator allows operators to offer fixed-line, web and cable television across the whole country. It was meant to happen late last year, but was then pushed to a dateline some time this year.

"du's ‘Real Broadband Services' now provide up to 16 times faster speed for the same price that customers were spending previously, starting from Dh199 a month," said Faraidooni.

Competitive rates

"du is also offering a triple play package ‘Surf, Talk and Watch' that includes landline, real broadband and du TV Plus service at a single price. "We will continue to work closely with TRA and the industry to deliver more value to our customers through compelling propositions."

But one proposition that subscribers need not worry about too much has to do with the overseas calling tariffs, with Faraidooni insisting that much has already been done. "The last few years have seen a reduction and this holds true for the UAE as well," he said.

"We believe calling rates in the UAE today are competitive when compared with the rest of the GCC. What's more, our broadband packages are better value than similar services offered in the Middle East, and are even more competitive than similar services provided in some developed markets, such as Ireland and Canada."

"This reflects du's intension of bringing value to customers across all segments and demonstrating its position as a market leader in the broadband domain, not only regionally but on a global scale."

Business super plan for women

Du isn't forgetting the woman entrepreneur. Early this month, the operator launched packages for women owing small and mid-sized businesses. The ‘Her Business Super Plan' provides bundled calling minutes, business calling circle, free national data, shopping rewards and special offers on handsets for Dh200 a month.