Etisalat, may be next in line on exit path post the cancellation of 2G licenses. This reports comes immediately after the announcement by S-Tel , to shut its operations. Earlier Batelco, had pulled the plug on S-Tel, and decided to sell out its stake in the company to the Indian promoters. Etisalat, had entered the Indian Telecom market, in a tie up with Swan (DB Group.) Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Etisalat is the largest telecom operator in the Middle East and Africa regions with a market value in excess of AED 80 billion (US$20 billion) and annual revenues of approximately AED 30 billion (US$8 billion).
The company’s exit may impact their existing subscriber base in select cities. The subscribers have an option to migrate to other operators. The decision to exit may also impact about 2000 employees of the company, who may face lay-off in the scenario of closure.
Etilalat DB, offered its services in India with the brand name – “Cheers” Mobile Service. Etisalat DB and its subsidiary has the Unified Services Access License in 15 circles including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. The company was yet to commission its services in all the circles.
It is also reported that the company’s services have gone down in some areas, due to non payment of dues to Reliance Communications, with whom they have an infrastructure sharing agreement. One of their posts on the support page mentions that the services are down in select areas for – “technical issues beyond their control”. We are not sure if these “issue” is related to the dropping of services provided by Reliance Communications.
Picture & Screenshot Credit – http://www.cheersmobile.in