Mobily

With its brand name Mobily, Etihad Etisalat became a monopoly-breaking mobile operator in Saudi Arabia when it won a tender against five other competing consortiums in 2004. It tendered $793 million for a GSM licence and purchased Saudi Arabia's first 3G mobile licence. Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates owns 35% of Mobily's shares, 45% is owned by private Saudi investors and the remainder publicly traded on the stock exchange. It launched commercial services to the public in 2005 and in 90 days acquired one million subscribers.