Du slashes international off-peak calling charges by more than 50%

Dubai:  UAE's second telecom operator, du, yesterday said it has slashed international off-peak calling rates by over 50 per cent, offering a rate of just 1.5 fils per second to 190 top destinations.

The new offer — available as part of du's One World Plan — will make calling relatives more affordable than ever before, it said.

The latest UAE telecom subscriber statistics show that du took the higher share of new subscriber additions in the second quarter of 2010.

"It accounted for 66.9 per cent of new subscriber additions in Q2-2010," a report by Global Investment House, said.

At the end of June 2010, UAE's total GSM subscriber base was at 11.72 million, after a year-on-year increase of 15.3 per cent. The second quarter witnessed a quarter-on-quarter growth of 2.4 per cent in subscriber base, added 272,100 new customers during the quarter.

Best deal

"Ramadan is an important time for family and friends to reconnect wherever they may be in the world, and we are therefore. We have slashed our rates to 190 top destinations by over 50 per cent; and with up to 60 per cent bonus for international calls on our ‘more International' recharge option, customers gets the best deal while making an international call from their mobile. Furthermore, our flat calling rate means customers need not navigate a maze of international calling rates, making calling family and friends around the world more affordable," said Fareed Faraidooni, chief commercial officer, du.

For international calling, du's "more international" recharge option gives customers bonus credit of up to 60 per cent in addition to the face value of the recharge. This recharge option, combined with the "One World Plan", provides further savings on international calling.

Recharge option

The Dh20 recharge card gives 29 mins of international calls, Dh50 gives 78 mins, Dh100 gives 167 Mins and Dh200 gives 356 mins of international calls, when calling during off-peak hours or anytime on Friday.

Elite plan customers can also avail this offer along with the monthly international calling rewards that gives them up to 75 per cent bonus for international calls.

There is no change in the peak hour rate of 4 fils per second (Dh2.4/minute) from Saturday to Thursday, 9am to 9pm. Customers can opt in to the One World Plan at no extra cost by dialling 135 from their du mobile line, and then selecting option 6.

du has more than three million subscribers, in a country where mobile penetration rate exceeded 200 per cent already.