How much is phone number 777-7777 in the UAE?

(Photo: Ivana Vuksa)

The number 777-7777 is sold for 7,877,777 dirhams ($2.1m) to an unnamed buyer who does not actually own their new memorable number as all numbers technically belong to the Government.

Instead, the winner gets a two-year phone contract for Etisalat's Diamond Plus package, which includes 22,500 phone minutes, 22,500 text messages, and 100GB of data every month.

According to BBC, Etisalat's standard VIP package costs about $230 per month. Other less desirable numbers were auctioned at the same event, such as the number 777-7770 that went for about $340,000

Hundreds of bidders were not put off by a warning from the phone regulator days before the event, saying it had the right to change or withdraw the special numbers at any time.