UAE Telecom Giant e& Revives Iconic Etisalat Branding to Drive AI Growth

UAE telecoms group e& is returning to its original brand identity of Etisalat, four years after the company's name change, as part of a strategic push to accelerate growth in the artificial intelligence era.

“Etisalat is the name we are taking forward – a name that reflects our heritage, our strategy and our ambition for the AI era,” the company announced on Tuesday in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

The announcement was made in the presence of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, as the Abu Dhabi-based company celebrates 50 years since its formation.

Etisalat was previously rebranded as e& in 2022 to support its transition into a global technology investment conglomerate. Reflecting on the change, the company stated, “Etisalat means connection. For 50 years, that purpose has guided what we build and the role we play. Today, it carries even greater significance as we bring connectivity, digital capabilities and infrastructure together to enable new opportunities.”

The telecoms operator is heavily prioritizing AI-driven growth through a major strategic project aimed at developing and expanding digital infrastructure capacity both inside the UAE and internationally. This initiative includes plans to boost international connectivity capacity to over 500 terabits per second by 2030—representing more than 25 times its current capacity—alongside the development of diverse routes to improve connectivity efficiency, reliability, and low-latency performance.

This strategic shift follows strong financial results, with the company reporting a 9 per cent increase in second-quarter revenue driven by international customer growth despite regional uncertainty caused by the Iran war. Quarterly revenue climbed to Dh19.2 billion ($5.2 billion) year-on-year, while the total customer base surged by nearly a third to reach 251.5 million. Additionally, the company agreed in July to sell its entire stake in Vodafone Group for $5.95 billion to refocus on its core operations.