Etisalat to spend $1.9 bln on fibre optic links

Etisalat to spend $1.9 bln on fibre optic links

Etisalat has spent 7 bln dirhams on expansion in past.

March 3, 2011 10:48 by Reuters

Etisalat , the Gulf’s largest telecoms firm, plans to invest 7 billion dirhams ($1.91 billion) on expanding its fibre optic network over the next three years, a senior official said on Thursday.

The telecoms operator, which is majority owned by the government, is bidding to make the UAE capital Abu Dhabi fully connected through fibre optic cable this year.

“Etisalat has invested 7 billion dirhams so far. We will invest a similar amount in the next three years,” Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Etisalat’s chief operating officer, told a conference.

Etisalat, whose $12 billion bid for a controlling stake in Zain stalled this week after it missed a due diligence deadline, said on Wednesday it was still interested in the Kuwaiti firm.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Dinesh Nair)