Etisalat and du mark release of 'History of the Emirates' series

Phone users on Etisalat, du networks woke on Sunday to see ‘History of UAE’ written atop their phone screens

A still from the documentary series, 'History of the Emirates'. Image Nation

Telecom operators in the UAE marked the release of a new series that charts the history of the UAE, by changing the network name on mobile handsets.

Phone users on the Etisalat and du networks woke on Sunday to see the words ‘History of UAE’ had appeared along the top of their phone screens.

The name change was made to celebrate the documentary series, which premieres on Sunday, in nod to the country’s great success.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Atlantic Production's documentary, History of the Emirates, will tell the story of the country over five successive nights.

The five themed episodes will focus on society, innovation, trade, belief and unity. They will be screened on a number of TV channels in the region including Dubai TV, Dubai One, Sama Dubai and Abu Dhabi TV.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, tweeted a preview of the series on Friday night, writing "every nation has a story. This is our story."

Stretching back 125,000 years and culminating in the UAE's union in 1971, the documentary series will showcase never-before-seen archival footage of some of the earliest memories of the country.

Etisalat and du often make temporary changes to network names to mark different observation days in the UAE.

This year, it marked the 10th  anniversary of one of the UAE’s most popular public transport means by changing the network name on mobile handsets to ‘Dubai Metro’.