Emirates Telecommunications Corporation

The Emirati state society Telecoms ( proper name Etisalat, formerly Emirtel ) was established by decision of the Federal Law No. 1 of 1976, the United Arab Emirates.

Market position

The company had until 2006 a monopoly on all telephone services, and was the only approved Internet provider in the country.

The UAE government has decided in early 2005 that, as of early 2006, more companies for telephone and Internet services to offer their services. So far in 2007 took only the operators "you" its operation on. The company supplies the 4.2 million inhabitants of the country with 4 million mobile lines and has one of the highest penetration rates in the mobile sector worldwide.

Other business activities include the construction and operation of telecommunications facilities in neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. According to the company, the company operates in 18 countries, where it has over 100 million customers.

ECompany

The Internet Service Provider (100 % subsidiary of Etisalat ) bears the name eCompany (formerly Emirates Internet and Multimedia ( Internet and Multimedia of the Emirates), abbreviated EIM). This holds the monopoly on all Internet connections. The DSL service is marketed under the name " Al Shamil ".

Dial-up connections are time-bound, high-speed connections billed a flat rate of 250 AED per month.

Monitoring

Bookseller eCompany fall to censorship, among other tasks. For Internet content that may

• Pornography
• Jewish Propaganda ( includes all pages with the TLD. il )
• Writings and media that are inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values ​​of the UAE
• Guide to computer sabotage or circumvent the censorship eCompany
• Internet telephony ( other than provider Etisalat )
• Drugs
• Other unwanted information (according to the government)

In the broadest sense to have content blocked.

The lock is through a proxy server through which all Internet traffic in the country is monitored. This does not include large enterprises and educational institutions. This can uncensored access to the Internet.

Other measures

In July 2009, the company offered some 145,000 BlackBerry customers via SMS to a software update that contained a spy program. BlackBerry maker RIM said in a row in a public statement that it apparently is a spy program of the U.S. company in the S88 software. S88 specializes in products for " lawful interception ", ie listening devices for law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Administration Building

The administration building of Etisalat in the individual emirates were each built in the same architectural style. On top of the building there is a sphere with the diameter of about 10 m, which is reminiscent of a white golf ball. In Dubai, the management is in the Etisalat Building.