Etisalat and the organizers of the Arab Broadcast Forum announced that this year's conference can be viewed for the first time on mobile phones, using Etisalat's Mobile TV service.

Any Etisalat customer with a 3G or 3.5G enabled mobile phone can subscribe to its mobile TV service by sending an SMS to 1010 with the message 'r mtv', and then tune into the conference by selecting Abu Dhabi TV from the menu of options.

Ahmed bin Ali, Vice President Corporate Communications at Etisalat said: 'The UAE today is the most connected nation in the Middle East, with the highest penetration of mobile, Internet and 3G subscribers. This creates an environment that encourages the dynamic creation of rich content.

Technology is opening opportunities for anyone to participate in the reporting of news, for example, and a growing pool of citizen journalists is emerging in the UAE as it is in the rest of the world. As such, it is appropriate that we are enabling this new generation of content producers to view the Arab Broadcast Forum over Mobile TV, as well as over traditional broadcast media and help as many people as possible to participate in the development of the industry'.

The Arab Broadcast Forum is taking place at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi between the 4th and 5th of May, and will bring together the leading thinkers in the broadcast industry to discuss topics such as 'The Arab League Media Charter' and the continuing growth of 'citizen journalists' and their increasing contribution to news content.

The entire conference will be broadcast LIVE on Abu Dhabi TV which is the official host broadcaster for the conference, and also one of the channels offered across Etisalat's Mobile TV service.

Edward Borgerding, CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company said: 'Abu Dhabi TV is proud to once again serve as host broadcaster for this prestigious event. The Arabic media landscape is rapidly changing, fuelled by an ever-increasing pool of talented professionals. As technology is a key enabler of the media, and increasingly of television content, we are delighted that subscribers to Etisalat's Mobile TV service will be able to tune into the full live conference for the first time in 2008'.

Etisalat is the Diamond Sponsor of the conference and will be demonstrating its expertise in mobile TV and other multimedia services throughout the Forum.

Etisalat has been demonstrating the value of its Mobile TV services in the UAE for many years and is the region's pioneer in this technology.

It has broadcast many sporting events in previous years, in preparation for the commercial launch of its subscription-based service last year. Etisalat has since introduced similar services in Egypt and Saudi Arabia through its subsidiaries Etisalat Misr and Mobily.

Today, subscribers can access 15 channels including Abu Dhabi Sports, Abu Dhabi TV, Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera International, BBC World, CNBC Arabia, Dubai Sports, Emirates TV, MBC1, Sama Dubai, Melody Aflam, sharjah, Kairali and Melody Hits.

Mobile TV uses Etisalat's extensive 3.5G network, which covers more than 98% of the populated areas of the UAE.

To subscribe to the service, customers should have an appropriate 3G or 3.5G-enabled device and SMS 'r mtv' to 1010.

Ali Al-Ahmed, Executive Vice-President of Planning and Strategy at Etisalat, said: 'The rapid increase witnessed by the Arab world in the area of electronic publishing, and internet broadcasting has emphasized that these new approaches will motivate innovation in media for the future'.

Al-Ahmed continued: 'Online media is helping to achieve a balance between the distribution of information and the actual facts that are of interest to consumers. Information Technology has given the world a chance to gain more knowledge through more television stations and a wider variety of media'.

According to statistics, the number of people using the Internet worldwide has reached 1.3 billion representing 20% of the world's population, and that there are now over 3 billion people using mobile phones.

With regards to the contribution of technology to the press in the Arab World, Al-Ahmed explained that the online media has provided the opportunity for many people in the Arab World to interact with the news.

'Modern applications for the Internet and Multimedia mobile devices provide the opportunity for anyone, anywhere to upload or download a video for specific events. This has connected viewers around the world to the news directly and quickly. Also by using a mobile phone anyone can capture an event and upload it on the Internet within minutes for millions of people around the world to view,' Al-Ahmed continued.

Al-Ahmed represents the largest Arab telecommunications company, with 63 million subscribers, including the companies that Etisalat manages internationally.

Etisalat has introduced the most advanced technical services to the region, which have accelerated the use of Internet and multimedia applications in the Arab World in general, and the United Arab Emirates in particular.

In the UAE, there are close to 197,000 subscribers registered on Facebook, 5000 UAE Facebook groups, and more than 19,000 'UAE' You Tube videos available from the Internet.

'Etisalat has played a major role in providing the most advanced technology in the region,' said Etisalat's Executive Vice President. 'The corporation has made significant progress in the areas communications networks and Information Technology, and has provided the most modern tools available on an international level which in turn made the United Arab Emirates a hub for hundreds of Arab and international media agencies. This will also see the rise in new services in the online Arab media, it is expected that this year will see the launch of electronic versions of newspapers across the UAE for mobile phones'.

During the forum, Al-Ahmed brought outlined the issues related to the Forum's main focus - 'Technology and the Integration of the Arab Media'. He highlighted the important role of advanced technology to support the media and the growing role of technology contributing to new forms of media, and to develop techniques that have changed the scope of media over the past few years.

With regards to the ability of the Internet to absorb this huge sum of information, photos and video, Ahmed said: 'The world of the Internet is rapidly changing and every day there are new developments. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how much these new services will affect the requirement for capacity on the network'.

The UAE hosts the Emirates Internet Exchange (EMIX), a part of Etisalat as well as landing points for all the major Eastward and Westward submarine cable networks.

Etisalat is also launching new submarine cable systems between the UAE and Europe (IMEWE - India, Middle East and Western Europe) and between the UAE and Africa (TEAMS - The East African Marine System and EASSy - East Africa Submarine Cable System).

Etisalat was established in 1976 and is today one of the major communications corporations on regional and global levels.

Etisalat is on its way to becoming one of the 10 largest communications companies in the world by 2010, and currently operates in 16 countries with international investments of estimated $40bn.

With an estimated market value of about $34bn Etisalat is ranked 16th globally in the telecommunications sector.

Hydra Properties, one of the leading real estate developers in the UAE, has announced that auditions for season two ‘Hydra Executives’, the new English reality-based TV program featuring 16 individuals and their quest for a USD 1 million business grant, has begun in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The breakthrough reality TV show takes a killer twist as Season 1 contenders takes on the task of picking out the next batch of executives for Season 2, which will comprise promising entrepreneurs from India and Pakistan, as part of their own pursuit to win the top prize. Twenty-five Indian contenders will be handpicked by the US team and another 25 Pakistani challengers will be chosen by the UK team in separate auditions scheduled in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The objective of the task for the current contestants is to draw the most number of people to the auditions by developing an effective marketing plan with the least budget, which will be reflective of their strategies and organisational skills, and test their ability to spot talent and potential. Out of the fifty candidates, the show’s judges will then select eight final contestants each for Indian and Pakistani teams based on their impressive business plans, backgrounds and winning qualities. The second season of the English series will start filming on June 21, 2008 and will be aired by local and international broadcasters.

“We have come up with this unique and challenging idea to involve the two largest expat groups in the UAE - Indians and Pakistanis, which also represent the two strongest business communities in the country. Combining the elements of a large crowd with a demanding logistics challenge, this task can be a powerful opportunity for the current contenders to prove their skill sets in innovation, leadership, creativity, marketing and project management. We are sure that this episode will feature just one of the many exciting twists and highlights that audiences can expect from the show,” said Ziad Battal, Executive Producer and Creator, ‘Hydra Executives’.

Hydra Properties is the only real estate developer in the UAE to have ventured into TV entertainment business through the launch of the English reality-based TV program, ‘Hydra Executives’. This breakthrough initiative is being supported by several global brands, including Range Rover, General Motors, Blackberry, Etisalat, ASUS, Panasonic and Debenhams, as the key sponsors of the first season of the show.

Etisalat was the Platinum sponsor of Click 2007, the Digital and Online Marketing Summit that was held in Dubai between 5th and 6th November 2007.

Staff from the marketing department of the Corporation played a major role at this event, and shared information and experiences with the delegates through a key presentation as well as a workshop.

Speaking at the event, Haitham Al Kharusi, Director of Marketing Communications, Etisalat, said: 'A summit such as this is particularly relevant now as we are seeing phenomenal growth of mobile usage across the globe. There are currently 2.7bn mobile users worldwide, and by the end of this year that number is expected to touch 4bn.'

'Mobile advertising is a fast-growing industry, and analysts predict that it will be an industry worth $11bn by 2011. This is a positive indicator that this market is growing to be a key mode for marketers to communicate with their target audiences, and this mode of communication will continue to have an impact on the advertising market, provided we all work towards effectively integrating it into our plans and strategies,' he added.

Etisalat staff also held a workshop for delegates of the summit, where they presented case studies and learnings from within Etisalat. The topic of the workshop was: 'Better Reach with Mobile Marketing - What you can learn from Etisalat's case studies and successes'.