Etisalat

History and Background

In 1982 Etisalat was the first telecommunications operator in the region to introduce mobile
phones. Since then it has expanded its services across the UAE, offering fixed line and
wireless networks. By 2005 Etisalat served more than 4.5 million mobile subscribers and
provided internet services to about 50% of its UAE customers. More recently the company
has introduced new services, including 3G and MMS in 2003 and BlackBerry services in
2006.

Etisalat began using GIS in 1989 and now maintains a range of Fundamental Geographic
Document Sets (FGDS) to support its primary business areas: the planning, development,
operation, and maintenance of its telecommunications networks. Today, more than 1,200
members of Etisalat’s staff use geospatial information to carry out a range of functions either
directly or indirectly. At Etisalat headquarters, 13 GIS experts administer and maintain the
system. These experts develop custom applications and manage FGDS-related functions
and day-to-day work flows.

Implementation of GIS

Etisalat maintains GIS capacity at its head office in Abu Dhabi and in each of its regional
offices: Abu Dhabi including Al Ain, Dubai, and the Northern Region including Sharjah,
Fujeirah, and Ras Al Khaima. Each region has a GIS coordinator and supports Etisalat
functions in one or more Emirates or areas. Etisalat's GIS applications also support the
planning and management of its fiber optic network in all three regions.

Etisalat’s ESRI-based platform incorporates a number of programs and applications,

including ArcGIS 9.0, ArcSDE 9.0 on Oracle 9i, Network Engineer 4.0 (from Telcordia
Technologies, Inc.), and an ArcIMS-based eMap application. Etisalat also uses OPNET,
which it began integrating with its GIS system in 1995, for work orders. Today, geographic
information associated with a work order is automatically captured and fed into the
company’s GIS business database where it is used for project monitoring and eventually
updated with data taken from as-built drawings.

Etisalat uses a wide range of different types of geospatial data, some of which it generates
itself and others which it obtains from other entities. Most of the data Etisalat generates is
driven by its primary business functions. Geospatial information about the civil network is the
largest FGDS generated and maintained by Etisalat. This network includes the ducts that
carry Etisalat’s cables, fibers, and lines, and the routes followed by its buried cables.

Relevance to the AD-SDI Community

Etisalat shares its outside-plant civil network data with other agencies and organizations on
a case-by-case basis. This civil network shows the routes of all the company’s ducts and
buried cables, junction boxes, manholes, cabinets, payphones, and telephone poles. It
includes the following types of information:
ƒ The routes of all ducts carrying cables, lines and fibers
 ƒ Junction and access network elements (junction networks make telecommunications
connections between exchanges; access networks connect between exchanges and
individual customers)
ƒ Locations of junction boxes, manholes, cabinets, payphones, and poles.

Etisalat limits the distribution of more detailed inside-plant data and information describing
the types and characteristics of cables and lines running through the ducts as well as data
showing the locations of certain types of facilities, such as antennas, satellite dishes, and
microwave towers.

Ongoing Initiatives

Data backlog clearance project. Etisalat is currently working to clear all data backlogs in its
GIS network. The backlog involves the updating of GIS databases to reflect differences
between planned infrastructure developments and final, as-built developments. This project
started in May 2007 and is due to be completed by the end of the year. In addition to
clearing the backlog and bringing Etisalat’s network datasets up-to-date, the company is
looking into options to decentralize its GIS update process by requiring contractors to enter
geospatial data directly into the system.

Map correction project. This is a UAE-wide project started in May 2005 to ensure that
Etisalat telecommunications network data corresponds to municipality basemaps in areas
where Etisalat operates. Two years into the project, Dubai was completed and much of the
work has been done for the northern emirates. About 70% of the data for Abu Dhabi has
been corrected with the rest expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2007.

http://www.etisalat.ae