12,000 new subscribers in three weeks

The sole broadband provider in the United Arab Emirates, Etisalat, has seen 12,000 new customers sign up for its Al-Shamil broadband service in the last three weeks, taking advantage of a price promotion that could result in savings of up to AED549 (USD149). The normal installation fee of AED200 is being waived, as it the first month’s subscription (up to AED349 for the fastest connection). Equipment costs can now be spread out under the promotion, with wired and wireless modems being offered on the never-never, with payments of AED9 and AED20 respectively. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Etisalat had an estimated 186,000 broadband customers at the end of September 2006.