Etisalat has further enhanced its position as the region’s leading provider of international roaming services by expanding its partnership network to include 520 telecommunication companies across the globe.

This extended network enables Etisalat customers to use their mobiles while travelling to 190 countries, said a top official.

“The UAE has diverse communities with high demand for traveling abroad for business, pleasure or to visit friends/family. Etisalat is obliged to meet communication needs of this multinational community and our international roaming services enable customers to stay connected wherever they are," said Essa Al Haddad, chief marketing officer, Etisalat.

"We are proud to announce that we are offering truly global roaming services specially designed for travellers, through the largest international network in the region in partnership with 520 providers across the globe," he remarked.

Al Haddad added that Etisalat offers a wide range of roaming solutions for voice, video, messaging and data.

The GSM post-paid customers can make and receive calls and SMS while travelling overseas. Wasel prepaid customers can send SMS in addition to receiving calls and SMS, he stated.

Additionally, they can make direct calls through more than 147 roaming partner in more than 78 countries such as India, Pakistan, France, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman and Syria, he added.

"In countries where direct roaming is not supported, Wasel customers can make calls using callback roaming service by dialing (*111*phone number #)," Al Haddad explained.

Etisalat was the first operator in the region to launch the 3G and 3.5G services, he pointed out.

"The number of Etisalat 3G customers has now exceeded two million. Through 98 roaming partners in 56 countries, customers can make video calls and enjoy high speed mobile internet connections while traveling."

Etisalat’s 3.5G MobileCAM provides anytime, anywhere access to live video footage from the camera location, provided the network supports 3G roaming.

GPRS/data roaming allows customers to access the internet as well as send and receive multimedia messages while traveling, through more than 330 roaming partners across 111 countries, Al Haddad added.-TradeArabia News Service