Telco rolls out follow up to successful soft launch of services on Emirates Airlines through AeroMobile

Dubai: 26 March, 2008 du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, has begun the testing phase of its in flight connectivity services with OnAir, a pioneering provider of mobile phone services to airlines. The international roaming agreement is in line with dus commitment to offer innovative and convenient communication services to its users, wherever they are.

Switzerland based OnAir offers passengers in-flight access to their du mobile phones and PDAs. Designed to enable mobile phones to operate at minimum power level, the system has no impact on any of the aircraft systems or subsystems. OnAir currently has agreements in place with Air France, bmi, TAP, Royal Jordanian, Kingfisher Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines Air Asia and Air Asia X.

Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: OnAir's commitment to offering customers the freedom to stay in touch anywhere echoes du's promise to provide maximum comfort and convenience to our customers, wherever they are. We are very excited about this new channel of communication for our customers and look forward to successfully building up this service in tandem with OnAir."

Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, said: OnAir is the leading inflight passenger communications provider, with the service being based on Inmarsats SwiftBroadband satellite communications solution. In the Middle East, we have announced a deal with Royal Jordanian Airlines and we expect to announce more customers in the coming weeks. And this roaming agreement with du means we now have roaming agreements with over 50% of the mobile phone operators in the region as well.

OnAir enables customers to use their handsets the same way they do when travelling abroad. Passengers can instantly make and receive calls in addition to sending and receiving text messages, from the moment they switch on their mobile phones. They can also send and receive emails using their PDAs, as well as download attachments.

Mobile phones must be international roaming enabled. The service requires no additional subscription. Regular roaming rates will apply to call and text messages charges.  

dus OnAir services will be launched as soon as the testing phase is successfully completed.

du completed the soft launch of their in-flight services on Emirates Airlines through their international roaming agreement with UK based AeroMobile, earlier this year. The agreement between du and AeroMobile was signed in January 2007. Testing was completed in May 2007, with the first SMS from a du Prepaid Line sent via AeroMobile in Feb 2008.

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About du
du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, launched mobile telecommunication services on 11 February 2007 across the UAE in addition to internet and pay TV services in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, the first of du's nationwide Fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007.

Among dus many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind WoW recharge card (which offers customers the choice between more credit and more time) and Self Care. du business offers include Closed Business User Group and preferred International Destinations.

dus retail network, currently numbering 16 du shops located in strategic locations across all emirates, was launched on 25 February 2007, supporting the delivery of du services to customers. 

du is 40 percent owned by the UAE Federal Government, 20 percent by Mubadala Development Company, 20 percent by TECOM Investments and 20 percent by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.

For further information on du, please contact:
Bina Mathews
PR Manager
du
Tel :+9714 3693828
Fax: +9714 3604440
Mobile: +971 55 4577984
Email: bina.mathews@du.ae

Press Release 2008