Etisalat: 28,000+ Screens of Managed Digital Signage for SMB Customers
Etisalat bundles Pickcel's cloud digital signage into its Business Edge SMB plans, now running on 28,000+ screens across 12,000+ businesses with 600 to 750 new licenses added every month.
Etisalat, the UAE telecom operator founded in 1976 and operating across 16 countries in MENA and Asia, launched “Business Edge” in 2020 to bundle digital signage into internet plans for its 300,000-plus SMB customer base. The operator needed a digital signage software partner capable of running the offering as a fully managed service rather than a one-time software sale, since most SMB customers have no in-house IT or content team. Pickcel built a custom three-party admin portal connecting Etisalat, Pickcel, and the installation partner, hosted the platform on AWS in Bahrain, and staffed a dedicated UAE-hours support team, while adding OTT/VOD integration through StarzOn and 100-plus region-specific content apps. The bundled service now runs on 28,000+ screens across 12,000+ SMB customers, with Etisalat adding 600 to 750 new licenses every month.
Industry
Telecommunications
Client
Etisalat (est. 1976, HQ Abu Dhabi, 16 countries MENA and Asia)
Screens deployed
28,000+
SMB customers
12,000+
Deployment scale
600–750 new licenses added monthly
Hosting
AWS, Bahrain
A managed service model for 300,000+ SMB prospects
Self-serve software would not work — Etisalat needed a partner to operate signage at SMB scale.
SMB customers needed a managed service, not self-serve software
Before partnering with Pickcel, Etisalat's "Business Edge" division set out to bundle digital signage into its SMB internet plans, targeting a base of more than 300,000 small and medium businesses across the UAE. Most of these customers had no in-house content or IT staff, so a self-serve software license would not work. Etisalat needed the digital signage running behind the offer to be operated for the customer, not handed to them.
A partner who could scale deployment, training, and support
That meant finding a partner who could manage deployment, training, and day-to-day support at SMB scale, not just license software. The offering also had to work across a wide range of small-business types, from single-location shops to multi-branch operators, each needing content relevant to their market: Arabic-language news, gold rates, and currency data alongside standard promotional signage. Etisalat's own teams were not resourced to run this layer themselves, and the scale of the "Business Edge" target base meant any partner had to support onboarding and support volumes that would grow every month, not a single fixed rollout.
A platform that could extend beyond the UAE
As a telecom operator active across 16 countries in the MENA and Asia region, Etisalat also needed a platform that could eventually extend beyond the UAE without a separate technology stack for each market, even though this deployment centers on its UAE SMB base.
“Most of these customers had no in-house content or IT staff, so a self-serve software license would not work. Etisalat needed the digital signage running behind the offer to be operated for the customer, not handed to them.”
Pickcel as the Managed Digital Signage Layer Behind Business Edge
Pickcel was brought on as the managed digital signage layer behind Business Edge, deployed on 39-inch Android TVs supplied as part of the SMB plan — with a custom portal connecting Etisalat, Pickcel, and the on-ground installation partner.
Custom three-party admin portal
Pickcel was brought on as the managed digital signage layer behind Business Edge, deployed on 39-inch Android TVs supplied as part of the SMB plan. Etisalat, Pickcel, and the on-ground installation partner each needed visibility into a single deployment, so Pickcel built a custom three-party admin portal that lets each side manage its part of the rollout, from installation status to content scheduling, without duplicating tools.
AWS hosting in Bahrain for low UAE latency
The platform runs on an AWS server hosted in Bahrain to keep latency low for the UAE customer base, and Pickcel's digital signage software gives Etisalat centralized control over every screen in the network from that single portal.
OTT integration and dedicated UAE-hours support
To extend the value of each screen beyond promotional content, Pickcel integrated OTT and VOD streaming through StarzOn, offered in two tiers: an entertainment-only feed for waiting areas, or a blended feed mixing StarzOn content with the business's own signage. Pickcel also staffed a dedicated support team operating UAE business hours to handle customer issues directly, so Etisalat's own staff are not the first line of support.
28,000+ Screens Across 12,000+ SMB Customers — Growing Every Month
Steady monthly growth since Business Edge launch
The Business Edge digital signage offering now runs on more than 28,000 screens across over 12,000 SMB customers, all managed through the single Pickcel-built portal. Etisalat adds 600 to 750 new screen licenses every month.
Because Pickcel operates the support and hosting layer directly, SMB customers get a working digital signage screen as part of their internet plan without needing to manage software, troubleshoot devices, or maintain their own content library. Support requests go straight to Pickcel's dedicated UAE-hours team rather than back through Etisalat's general customer service, which keeps signage-specific issues off Etisalat's own support queue.
The OTT integration through StarzOn gives businesses in waiting-room and hospitality-adjacent settings an added use for the same screen, beyond scheduled promotional content. Combined with the region-specific content apps for Arabic news, gold rates, and currency data, a single Android TV screen can serve as a promotional display, an information feed, and an entertainment source depending on how each SMB customer configures it through the portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Etisalat's bundled approach different from an SMB setting up its own digital signage software?+
With a standalone setup, an SMB has to select, license, and host digital signage software itself, then manage content updates and troubleshooting in-house. Etisalat's bundled plan removes that layer entirely: Pickcel runs the hosting, the admin portal, and support behind the screen, so the business only interacts with a working display. This suits the Business Edge base directly, since most of these SMB customers have no in-house IT or content team.
How many SMB customers and screens does the Etisalat-Pickcel solution support?+
The deployment covers 28,000+ screens across more than 12,000 SMB customers as of the latest count. Etisalat continues to add 600 to 750 new screen licenses every month as more Business Edge customers take up the offer.
What does the on-ground installation partner handle in the three-party admin portal?+
The installation partner manages physical deployment: installing each Android TV device at the SMB location and logging installation status into the shared portal. Etisalat and Pickcel use that same status data, alongside content scheduling, to track rollout progress, so all three parties work from one system rather than separate tools.
How many new digital signage licenses does Etisalat roll out monthly?+
Etisalat adds between 600 and 750 new digital signage licenses each month across its SMB customer base, part of the ongoing growth of the Business Edge bundled offering launched in 2020.
Is Pickcel's platform compatible with Android TV hardware?+
Yes. The Etisalat deployment runs on 39-inch Android TVs supplied as part of the SMB plan, after the rollout moved from Pickcel's original media players to Android TV devices for cost and availability reasons.
See How Others Use Pickcel
See Pickcel for Telecom
See how telecom operators bundle managed digital signage into SMB service plans, the way Etisalat does with Pickcel.