UAE’s Etisalat launches new app-centric mobile brand Swyp

UAE mobile operator Etisalat has launched a new mobile service targeting young people in the country.

While not officially launched, ads on YouTube have been launched for Swyp.ae, a mobile service brand with a focus on data over calls or SMS that offers discounts to its customers at a number outlets across the UAE.

The service is only available to those aged between 19 and 29, according to Swyp’s website and app.

For now, Swyp appears to be purely a prepaid service, with the base plan offering 5GB of social data for Dhs50 for a month.

Add-on packages for general data will charge more with prices ranging from Dhs25 for 500MB to Dhs150 for 4GB, with the option to sign up for a 1GB plan specific to Snapchat and Instagram. You can also pay Dhs25 for additional 50 flexi national and international minutes to 100 countries.

Swyp claims to be app-centric (although, according to the website, users can also sign up via an Etisalat store at various malls around Dubai), allowing customers to apply for a new number, or port an existing number from their current carrier, and then manage and recharge the account through the app.

The service will also offer WiFi hotspots access throughout the city.

The launch comes even as the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) – the holding company for Etisalat’s rival du – officially launched Virgin Mobile in the UAE this week.

Virgin Mobile – also targetting the youth – gives consumers a third option to choose from over the standard packages offered by du and Etisalat. The brand’s cheapest package begins at Dhs79 for 50 minutes and 1GB data (plus 1GB free), according to media reports.