2.3 Million AED for the Top Etisalat Premium Package

The package fetched AED 2.31 million, compared to its initial price of AED 16,500. It was acquired by a bidder from Dubai.

Proceeds from the auction, which lasted nearly seven hours, will go to the charitable projects of the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works. The total initial value of all sold distinguished numbers reached approximately AED 1.1 million.

Coming in second was the package containing the number “0506066666,” which sold for AED 530,000, secured by a bidder from Abu Dhabi. Third place went to the package containing the number “0504044444,” which sold for AED 480,000 to a bidder from Dubai.

Meanwhile, the package containing the number “0563001000” sold for the lowest price in the auction—AED 20,000—and was acquired by a bidder from Dubai.

Some attendees expressed differing views on the proceedings. A number of bidders told “Emarat Al Youm” that they attended the auction to buy and then sell numbers, seeing it as a form of business yielding good returns. Others argued that the sale of numbers may not be legal under the rules of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which stipulates that phone numbers cannot be sold or traded, and that winners of distinguished numbers cannot transfer them to others.

The TRA classifies numbers as a national resource owned by the state and manages them in line with telecom legislation and the National Numbering Plan Policy. It clarified that it has the right to modify or withdraw allocated numbers as needed and in accordance with its requirements.

The packages offered included diamond, platinum, and gold categories. Holders of the “Diamond+” package, for instance, receive several benefits, including a free iPhone 6, 22,500 free local minutes, 2,250 free international minutes, 2,250 free SMS, 300 free international roaming minutes, and 100 GB of free data.

The auction saw intense competition between participants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for these distinguished numbers, but ultimately Dubai bidders secured the majority of the packages. Emirates Auction did not release specific figures on the total proceeds, but it is expected to be less than in the previous auction, when the number “0507777777” sold for about AED 7.8 million.

Abdulla Al Mannaei, CEO of Emirates Auction, stated that the buyer of any package can transfer its usage rights to another user without incurring early termination fees.

He explained that an auction registration certificate is issued to the buyer, but there is no ownership title for the number, as phone numbers are owned by the state and managed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in line with legal frameworks and specific regulations.

He also noted that the packages up for auction were extremely special and exclusively available through the auction. They include distinct privileges, and bidders from a wide range of nationalities participated, although the majority of participants were UAE nationals.

Al Mannaei stressed that the value of these packages is prepaid and included in the price paid by the buyer. Therefore, the subscriber is not required to pay any additional fees for two years unless they exceed the limits of the package.

The auction was held simultaneously at Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi and Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, with a live satellite broadcast linking the two venues.

This article is translated and not the actual content.