Abu Dhabi: etisalat, the country's leading telecommunication services provider, announced on Sunday it is technically ready to provide the Voice Over the Internet (VoIP) services, pending the regulators approval.
"In terms of technologies and infrastructure, we are ready to provide the service, but the regulator needs to set the conditions and terms for providing such a service first," Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, etislat's chief operating officer, said.
"The service will be introduced soon, this year or may be next year, I don't know but it is on the regulators agenda," he added.
Julfar said it will happen sooner or later and we have no choice but to accept it, as it is ultimately good for the economy because we have to adjust tariffs and fees, and given the scale of our business in 16 markets, we do not expect a huge effect.
"etisalat's mobile penetration rate in the UAE touched 150 per cent with more than 6.3 million subscribers by mid-December, and we will announce a new figure by tomorrow, and this growth is remarkable with the existence of a second player," Julfar said referring to the company's annual financial statements pending today.
The company, as well as the government, denied any plans of opening up for foreign investments or any new issues.
"There are no plans whatsoever to this end, may be we are studying the prospects, but to have a new issue a specific process is required including approval of the higher authority, and nothing of that sort is taking place," Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, minister of government sector development told Gulf News earlier.
