The world’s largest operator in terms of revenue, Vodafone, announced a partnership with United Arab Emirates operator du on Wednesday, expanding its brand into the Middle East.

Under what Voda calls a “partner market agreement”, du will get access to the Big V’s products, services and exclusive devices, and Voda will get its brand splashed across the UAE.

The deal will also provide du customers with improved voice and data roaming access across 67 countries where Vodafone has a presence, and Vodafone customers will be able to access ‘home’ services whilst in the UAE.

In the future, the du-Vodafone partnership will include mobile broadband connectivity products for PCs as well as secure, remote mobile access for small business users and converged email solutions.

The UAE market is dominated by Etisalat, which boasted around 7.2 million subscribers at year-end 2008, while du lags behind with 2.3 million users.

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