Du seen catching rival Etisalat on mobile customers

Du, the UAE's second telecoms operator, could finally equal rival Etisalat for mobile phone market share by the end of 2012, analysts at Frost & Sullivan have said. Jonas Zelba, research analyst, Information and Communication Technologies Practice, predicted Du would continue to to cut into Etisalat's dominance this year. The operator, which currently has a 46 percent of the UAE mobile market, said five million people use its services. According to Zelba, an additional investment of $408.3m in building faster mobile networks will further increase du's value proposition in the market. "Once the infrastructure is upgraded it will have a sizable impact knowing the high uptake of smartphones and high mobile data usage in the UAE. "If du is able to sustain its growth and existing subscribers' base, Frost & Sullivan expects to see equal mobile market share between du and Etisalat by the end of 2012," Zelba said in a statement issued by Frost & Sullivan. Earlier this week, du said its full year profit declined 16 percent as royalties to the government increased. The Dubai-based firm, also known as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co, said net income declined to AED1.01bn ($275m) from AED1.31bn a year earlier. That profit figure was affected by a one-off AED268m charge relating to a change in estimate for 2009 royalty payments.