du greets its customers on ’Vishu’ with recharge and win contest

Greeting its customers on the occasion of Vishu, the south Indian harvest festival, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider today announced a recharge and win contest for Pay as you Go® customers to win tickets to a show organized by Asianet featuring performance by leading film stars from Kerala in India. By simply using the ‘more international’ option on AED 100 or AED 200 WoW recharge card and sending recharge card number by SMS to 6961 , du customers have a chance to win tickets to the show, scheduled on 10 April.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “Our heartiest greetings go to our customers on the joyous occasion of Vishu. By simply using their du recharge cards and the more international option, not only will they make lot of savings on international calls, they also have an opportunity to celebrate this festival with their loved ones and their favourite film stars, presented in association with our partner Asianet. We hope our customers appreciate our gesture and make full use of the opportunity.”

du is partnering Asianet in presenting the marathon 5-hour long event on 10 April that will have performances by well-known film stars such as Navya Nair, Biju Narayan, Unni Menon and many more. The event is scheduled to be staged at Sheikh Rashid Auditorium in Dubai from7:30 pm onwards. The recorded programme will be also telecast on Asianet TV channel on 14 April, the day of Vishu festival at 8:30 pm.

‘more international’ from du enables customers to get extra credit of upto 60% for international calls. On AED 100 denomination recharge card, du customers get a credit worth AED 150, valid for 20 days. On AED 200 denomination recharge card, du customers get a credit worth AED 320, valid for 30 days.

Each SMS sent by du customers to participate in the contest will cost AED 3 and the winners will be notified by Asianet.

du hosts Wireless Broadband Alliance Roundtable Conference

du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, announced today that it is hosting the 15th Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) Roundtable Conference in Dubai from 20th – 23rd April; the first time that such a high-level meeting of leading WBA global telecom operators is held in the Middle East.

The conference consists of four separate sessions across the four days – including the WBA Summit 2009, the WBA-WFA Joint Cooperation Workshop and Networking Dinner, and 1- on-1 Meetings, concluding with the WBA Members Conference. Souhail Haddaji, Vice President, Marketing Fixed Products at du will be delivering a speech titled ‘Overview of Recent Wi-Fi Developments’ on 20th April 2009.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “We are committed to actively engaging with experts and industry partners from across the globe, to enable us to continually deliver an improved service and experience to our users; not just in the UAE, but whenever they travel abroad. Hosting this forum will bring us a variety of significant opportunities for future partnerships with global telecom leaders, for the future benefit of all du customers.”

du, which is the only WBA member from the Middle East region, intends to use the forum to accelerate the establishment of wireless broadband roaming relationships with other leading WBA partners from around the world.

In forging successful alliances, du users will be able to enjoy a unified wireless broadband experience – as if they are connecting to their home operator when they travel abroad and connect to WBA member networks.

The event will also be a significant opportunity for du to increase visibility of its variety of broadband services – for enterprise and domestic use, in both local and regional markets.

WBA meetings are considered as the definitive occasion for telecom providers to discuss opportunities for driving wireless broadband services adoption; in a forum that allows industry leaders and partners to proactively engage with each other.

The WBA was founded in 2003 by a group of leading telecom operators including BT, Korea Telecom, Maxis, NTT Communications, StarHub and T-Mobile USA as the original founding members. WBA now has 40 of the leading wireless broadband operators and vendors as members across Asia Pacific, Americas and Europe as of December 2008.

The objectives of the WBA are to facilitate global wireless broadband roaming between member operators across networks, technologies and devices, and to increase wireless broadband adoption by fostering collaboration between members.

du announces lucky winner of Andrea Bocelli AED 10,000 raffle

du, the UAE’s integrated telecom services provider, announced today the lucky winner of the grand AED 10,000 raffle prize, from the entries made to the draw during the Andrea Bocelli concert in Abu Dhabi.

Australian national Ranjith Powell was selected as the winner after entering the draw at Italian operatic pop tenor and classical singer Andrea Bocelli’s concert, held live at Emirates Palace on 27 March.

People were entered into the draw via an on-the-spot activity at the Emirates Palace venue, which asked people at random if they wished to participate in the du ‘Smart People’ activity. Those that agreed were photographed, and their image uploaded to the www.smartpeople.ae website. All those that were photographed were entered into the raffle, with an equal chance to win the AED 10,000 grand prize.

Powell, who has lived in Dubai for two years and subscribes to du services including TV, landline, internet and mobile, explained how he came to enter the competition. He said; “My friends had invited me to the concert and even though we were running late, I noticed the du raffle promotion and decided to enter, despite my friends telling me there was no point! When I found out I had won, they couldn’t believe it and said that it was meant to be! I am absolutely thrilled to have won this fantastic prize thanks to du, especially after having such a great evening at the concert. With the money I’m going to buy gold and jewellery for my mother. Thank you du!”

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “The Smart People activity was a fun and experiential way to connect with customers and present to them our new Elite and Premiere Plans in a unique way and part of a teaser campaign towards the launch of those products. We then added the element of excitement by offering all participants the chance of winning a cash prize. We congratulate Ranjith on his good luck and are happy that the activity was such an astounding success, enjoyed by all of those that took part.”

The Andrea Bocelli event, sponsored by du, formed part of the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, in conjunction with Flash and LiveNation. du remains committed to bringing the best in entertainment to the UAE by sponsoring a number of diverse music concerts, and to bringing du to life for customers through competitions and other experiences.

du begins summer celebrations as gold sponsor of Al Ain Mall ’Travel Season’ campaign

In a move to reach-out to customers in Al Ain, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom services provider, is joining in Al Ain Mall’s celebrations for the summer, as gold sponsor of its ‘Travel Season’ campaign. Shoppers who spend AED 200 or more in du shop or any of the mall’s other outlets, will receive a raffle coupon which entitles them to enter a raffle draw and win various prizes, with the chance to win the grand prize – a car.

The campaign, which lasts till 15 June, includes a variety of activities. The Travel Season campaign will also feature a wide variety of live music and entertainment, including acrobatic shows onstage in the heart of the mall. Apart from the grand prize of a car, shoppers can also win other prizes from du, worth up to AED 550.

During the promotional campaign, all shoppers are invited to the du shop, located on the mall’s first floor, to find out about du’s wide variety of products and services and ongoing promotions, while winners of the weekly raffle can visit the shop to claim their special du prize.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “In sponsoring events such as Al Ain Mall’s Travel Season campaign, we are fulfilling our vision to reach out- and get closer to customers in the UAE. Participating in the campaign is an excellent way for us to gain momentum for the start of the summer season, and raise awareness about the fantastic products and services that du provides to customers.”

du opens new shop at Aswaaq supermarket in Al Mizhar

Reaching out to new and existing customers in Al Mizhar, du announced today the opening of its new shop at Aswaaq supermarket in Dubai’s Al Mizhar area.

Located in the Al Mizhar Community Center in Dubai on the first floor, the du shop will cater to customers with du’s wide variety of products and services including purchase of du prepaid, du Elite Plan postpaid lines, du recharge cards, du Call Select (fixed line service) and also provide information about the ongoing promotional offers from du.

du is also participating in Aswaaq’s ‘Spin and Win’ promotion, to mark the start of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) and the supermarket chain’s participation in the summer festivities. The promotion, which is targeting all shoppers, and in particular the local residents of Al Mizhar area of Dubai, will offer a unique chance to win an assortment of valuable prizes. To participate in the promotion, shoppers have to spend a minimum of AED 50 at the Aswaaq supermarket, and will then be given the chance to spin the Aswaaq wheel. Those lucky enough to spin the wheel round to a winning spot will win their choice of an instant prize which include one minutes of free shopping, apart from exclusive prizes from du.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, commented; “With our new shop at Aswaaq at Mizhar, we are making it easier for customers to reach us and opening new doors of relationship with them. At the same time, Aswaaq’s Spin and Win promotion provides us with an opportunity to reach out to and connect with customers in Al Mizhar area in Dubai, and to raise awareness about the wide range of products, services and promotions that du offers, to fit all of our customers’ unique needs. The promotion also provides an excellent opportunity to kick-start du’s participation in DSS, and we are looking forward to a fun-filled summer of bringing du’s products and services, closer to our customers.”

du launches 24 Mbps, the fastest broadband speed for home in the Middle East and yet another UAE market-first

In yet another market first, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, today announced the launch of new broadband speeds up to an unparalleled 24Mbps, the fastest broadband speed in the UAE and the highest broadband speed in the Middle East.

The new broadband speeds will be available to all du customers availing home services. In an unprecedented move, existing du customers who have subscribed to 4 Mbps broadband will get double the broadband speed of 8 Mbps at the same earlier price of AED 449 per month, 8 Mbps broadband customers will get 16 Mbps at a lower price of AED 549 per month and 12 Mbps broadband customers will be upgraded to 24 Mbps at the same earlier price of AED 749 per month, the fastest in the Middle East.

The new broadband packages are useful to meet high-bandwidth requirements such as online gaming, streaming audio and video, high volume data downloads. All the high speed broadband come as a packaged solution, pre-bundled with anti-virus and anti-spyware software to offer the highest levels of security and peace-of-mind while surfing the internet.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said: “We pride ourselves in product and service innovation and our latest launch is a result of our continuous efforts to bring the very best available in broadband internet. In an increasingly digitally convergent world, availability of high internet bandwidth is a primary need and with our new broadband packages we are offering more choice, greater value and an unmatched user experience for our home services customers.”

At a glance: Current broadband packages Package Price(AED/Month) New broadband packages Package Price
(AED/Month)
4 Mbps 449 8 Mbps 449
8 Mbps 599 16 Mbps 549
12 Mbps 749 24 Mbps 749 Each package includes 5 email addresses with 1 GB mailbox size, 20 MB web hosting space and Antivirus & Antispyware.