Etisalat and France Telecom establish a cooperation agreement

Etisalat becomes a shareholder of SoftAtHome

Following a MoU signed on 2 July 2008, Etisalat (Abu Dhabi: ETISALAT) and France Telecom (Paris and NYSE: FTE) signed a cooperation agreement covering Digital Home services, content, international networks and Enterprise solutions.

Etisalat will acquire a 16.6% stake of SoftAtHome, a joint venture launched by Thomson, Sagem and France Telecom to develop software solutions for triple-play services in the Digital Home. Etisalat will adopt SoftAtHome solutions for its future broadband deployments. Both groups will collaborate on the roll out of multiple-play solutions from the technical and marketing points of view.

According to Mohammed Hassan Omran, Chairman, Etisalat: “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with France Telecom. Value-added, multiplatform services are a key component of the future of the telecommunications industry. Combining both Etisalat and France Telecom’s expertise in this area will significantly advance Etisalat’s ambition to delight our customers across our footprint. This agreement also paves the way for Etisalat and France Telecom to cooperate on acquiring rich multimedia content such as pay per view television – films, sports or events – which will further enhance our service offering in the UAE and internationally.”

Didier Lombard, Chairman and CEO, France Telecom, adds: “We are extremely pleased to have Etisalat as a strategic partner. This cooperation expands again the vision of convergence and Digital Home rolled out by France Telecom. I am convinced that telecommunication players have an increasingly important role in shaping multiple-play trends based on the needs of our customers. I am also happy to join forces with Etisalat in content as we both believe that this is the fuel of our networks”.

Etisalat and France Telecom pave the way for a cooperation on acquiring specific content for their respective footprints such as in pay-TV films, sports or events. Etisalat also confirms its interest in distributing the multiplayer game Warhammer Online. Studio 37, France Telecom’s subsidiary dedicated to investing in films, and Etisalat will join forces in co-production of movies.

Both groups also agree to target future projects together in new submarine cables, in particular to improve the international connectivity of both Western and Eastern Africa.

With respect to Enterprise solutions, both groups agree on cooperating in network-related solutions and telecoms for real estate developments .

The partnership is fully coherent with competition rules and pays specific attention to markets where both groups operate.