UAE telco du may get refund on TV package sales

UAE telecoms operator du may get a refund from two television broadcasters after mistakenly overpaying them on TV package sales. "With two TV partners there was a mistake that overstated [package numbers] not in our favour," du chief executive Osman Sultan said on Wednesday. Du's TV packages cost up to AED315 ($85.76) per month, with the Dubai-based operator passing on part of these fees to broadcasters, which include OSN - part-owned by Kuwait's Kuwait Projects Co - and Qatar's Al Jazeera. "We have been working to achieve a satisfactory resolution regarding a refund," a du spokesman said. Du declined to name the TV firms or the value of any potential refund. Fixed line services, including TV, provided 17 percent of du's AED2.23bn of revenue in the third quarter. The operator, which is majority-owned by government-linked institutions, had 108,700 TV subscribers at the end of September. It offers nationwide mobile phone services plus fixed broadband and TV services in certain areas.