Nigeria - 5th operator

Etisalat, new GSM operator, promises innovative services

Etisalat Nigeria, a new GSM operator on Friday unveils its plans to deploy its services across the country soon, promising to use advanced technology.
Mr Hakeem Bello-Osagie, Chairman of the company, made the pledge at a media presentation of the network in Lagos. He said that Etisalat, which is also known as Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), would roll out soon as the fifth GSM operator in the country. Bello-Osagie said that being the fifth licensed GSM operator in the country would not pose any challenge to the company.

“I don’t regard it as a challenge because I feel very optimistic about the Nigerian market and with hardwork and perseverance, we will excel,” he said. Bello-Osagie said that the company would take employment of Nigerians seriously, adding that it had employed and trained 500 workers out of which 208 are Nigerians.

“The issue of employment of Nigerians is very crucial to us and I assure you that we will do the very best to employ more Nigerians,” he said. Mr Saoud Al Shamsi, Chief Executive Officer of the company, said that the company had come to reshape the telecommunication industry in Nigeria.

He said that the company would take quality service delivery very seriously to make Nigerians satisfy their personal and business goals.

“We are here to do it right for the first time, so we will launch very soon when the quality of service will not be compromised,” he said.Etisalat acquired its Unified Access License from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2007 with $400 million.