By Parag Deulgaonkar

Etisalat's diamond plus number, 050-7777777, was sold for an astonishing Dh7.87 million (Dh7,877,777) at a VIP mobile number auction on Saturday.



The auction was held by Emirates Auction, a UAE-based auction company, simultaneously at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi and Armani Hotel, Dubai.

It said that the successful bidder was an Emirati, without disclosing his name.



Seventy VIP mobile numbers went under the hammer including mere seven (050-7777777, 050-7777770, etc) under the diamond plus category.



"The number 050-7777777 was sold for Dh7.87 million (Dh7,877,777)," an Emirates Auction official told Emirates24|7.



"There were 700 bidders taking part in the auction," he added.



Though the total amount collected at the auction was not known, etisalat has said it will use part of the auction revenue to support Khalifa Foundation programmes and to support its CSR projects.



Besides, the diamond plus numbers, there were 25 diamond numbers, 18 platinum numbers and 20 gold numbers.



The above categories include different packages, with the buyer of the Diamond Plus number getting 22,500 local minutes per month for 2 years, 2,250 international minutes per month for 2 years, 100GB data per month for 2 years, 22,500 local SMS per month for 2 years, 300 incoming roaming minutes per month for 2 years, the latest smartphone

and a dedicated customer care.



The package for Diamond numbers includes 7,500 local minutes per month for 2 years, 750 international minutes per month for 2 years, 20GB data per month for 2 years, 7,500 local SMS per month for 2 years, 100 incoming roaming minutes per month for 2 years, a smartphone and a dedicated customer care.



Buyers of Platinum number will get 2,500 local minutes per month for 2 years, 100 international minutes per month for 2 years, 10GB Data per month for 2 years and 2,500 Local SMS per month for 2 years, a smartphone and a dedicated customer care, while Gold number buyers get 850 local minutes per month for 2 years, 50 international minutes per month for 2 years, 5GB data per month for 2 years and 850 local SMS per month for 2 years, a smartphone and a dedicated customer care.



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