Emirates Telecommunication Group Company PJSC, branded trade name Etisalat (Arabic: اتصالات‎ ittiṣālāt, literally "communications"), is a multinational Emirati based telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. As of February 2014, Etisalat is the 14th largest mobile network operator in the world, with a total customer base of more than 167 million. Etisalat was named the most powerful company in the United Arab Emirates by Forbes Middle East in 2012