du launches single tariff system for Gulf roaming

The UAE mobile operator, du, has launched a single tariff system for its customers roaming in the GCC. The company says its service, which offers local and incoming calls at Dh1.25 (US$0.34) per minute to customers travelling anywhere in the region, is the first of its kind. Earlier in the year, a meeting of Arab telecommunications regulators concluded that network operators were not doing enough to offer competitive rates for roaming, threatening regulatory intervention if the industry did not improve its practices. Middle Eastern mobile operators have since rushed to improve their roaming tariffs. Etisalat offers a single roaming rate between its three largest markets - Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - and has said it hoped to integrate all 17 of its international networks in the long run. At Dh1.4 per minute it is higher than du's rate, but customers are not charged for receiving incoming calls. Zain, the Kuwaiti mobile operator, has attracted international attention for its "One Network" system, which brings customers of its 15 national operations into what is effectively a single network with common pricing. Farid Faraidooni, the executive vice president of du's commercial division, said the new tariff "makes roaming simple and affordable", and is "a reflection of our commitment to simplify the lives of our customers". [e-mail]