Etisalat has announced that Abu Dhabi will become world's first fully connected capital with eLite, Etisalat's advanced optical fibre communication network.

Etisalat confirmed that it has reached the final stage of completion of this project, scheduled to be completed in the beginning of the third quarter of 2009.

With eLite connecting all the households in Abu Dhabi, the city will become world's first 100 per cent FTTH connected capital. Etisalat is also in the process of connecting Dubai and Sharjah through eLite.

Etisalat’s eLite is based on the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology is considered to be the most advanced technology globally, for connecting homes.

eLite will provide high speed broadband internet to the households, opening infinite new options for home entertainment such as high definition (HD) video service quality and clarity, video on demand (VoD) and online gaming.

Moreover, eLite will also open up innovative business avenues like e-education and online health check-ups.

“Etisalat is proud to make Abu Dhabi the first fully connected capital in the world,” said Mohamed Khalfan Al Qamzi, CEO, Etisalat.

“eLite is a significant technology leap for the country that will modernize the communications and telecom infrastructure and provide infinite entertainment options to the home users through its high speed network,” he added.

“Based on the FTTH technology, eLite has enormous scope and potential in terms of capacity, speed, and efficiency to accommodate the growing demand for bandwidth in the coming decades.'

This unique and innovative FTTH technology connects all the services through a single optical fibre, making it inexpensive, reliable and far simpler than the traditional cable connectivity.

The technology also has the ability to maintain large bandwidth optical transmissions, which means that the customers can use this service to receive high quality television services in addition to accessing high speed Internet.

Security enhancements on the network ensure information confidentiality, with all services being made available through a single service port.

Al Qamzi also expressed optimism on the unlimited opportunities offered by eLite.

'eLite will bring about a paradigm shift in the communication sector, taking it to unprecedented levels,” he said.

“With its high-speed Internet offering speed up to 100 Mbps, eLite will boost adoption of new age internet services like IPTV, VoD, and online gaming, creating future smart homes.

“The platform will also widen the current internet gamut by opening unconventional yet significant internet avenues, in areas like e-education, online health checks ups with three-dimensional view (voice, picture and data), video conferencing, and remote infrastructure management,' he added.

Etisalat has already connected more than 300,000 homes through eLite since 2008 and aims to connect the entire UAE by end of 2011, connecting more than 1.4 million homes and offices. – TradeArabia News Service