Telco du to create 1m new mobile phone numbers

UAE telco du said on Wednesday it will launch a new mobile phone prefix early next year to create  one million new numbers. The new prefix code number (0529) will be launched in the first quarter of 2012 after du's plan was approved by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The addition of the series will open up one million extra lines to du's new mobile customers, the telco said in a statement. "We would like to thank the TRA for granting us the new prefix code number, which is an essential addition for us to face the increasing demand on Du's mobile services," said Farid Faraidooni, chief commercial officer, du. "With the addition of (0529), we can continue to expand our active customer base that reached over five million mobile subscriptions." He said the additional one million lines would support customers' demand for about six months, based on du's analysis. Du said more digital hierarchies under the (052) access code will be opened in the future as demand dictates. Du launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE, to break the monopoly previously held by Etisalat. By the end of the third quarter of 2011, nearly five million people in the UAE were du mobile customers.