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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Living Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Mobile overload
by Niveen WahishMobile phone connections have fallen below users' expectations. Clients complain that they cannot reach a number without dialing it several times. When a person is finally connected, a call may end abruptly, produce irritating echoes, or mute the speakers' voices and break them up into disconnected intonations. These are some of the inconveniences suffered by subscribers to MobiNil and Click GSM, Egypt's only two private cellular phone operators.
"The connections of both companies have been very bad recently," said Mohamed Omran, general manager of Misr International Systems, a 15-year-old company specialising in the design, installation and maintenance of computer networks in Egypt.
The current infrastructure of both companies is overloaded, according to Omran, who explained that connection problems are not due to the quality of the equipment, but are caused because "their infrastructure cannot accommodate the number of subscribers being accepted by the companies."
The inability of these companies to say no to new subscribers until they expand their networks can be attributed to the fact that the two "are in a race" to capture the largest numbers of users and collect part of the expenses they incurred in investing in their projects, Omran said.
"The two companies have been overdoing their advertising campaigns," he said. The computer specialist was critical of the cellular phone operators' policy of spending on marketing when they should have used these resources to improve the companies' networks and the service they render to the public. "The advantage of mobile phones is that they are available at any time. If they do not function in times of need, then they are useless," he said.
Osman Sultan, chief executive officer of MobiNil, which boasts 250,000 subscribers, admitted that the service has been very bad lately. Speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the company's first anniversary, Sultan attributed the congestion of lines to the fact that the speed with which a telecommunications company can establish its infrastructure is limited. Demand for mobile phones has been growing faster than the company's ability to expand its infrastructure, he said. "The market has grown five-fold in one year, growing from around 83,000 to 400,000 subscribers for the two companies," Sultan said.
Moreover, MobiNil has been having problems installing its equipment in Cairo because of fears of the hazardous effect of waves transmitted by these stations on the health of nearby residents, he added.
But Sultan conceded that his company was partly responsible for excess demand on the network, which grew in response to MobiNil's intensive marketing campaign. He claimed the campaign was "necessary for the creation of a market."
MobiNil has limited its advertising campaign over the past three months, Sultan said. He stressed more than once that his company is "restraining" itself from meeting the demands of the market because it is keen that new subscriptions will be properly accommodated by the network.
MobiNil has not only expanded its network, but is also in the process of installing a third switch which will enable it to comfortably accommodate 600,000 subscribers by the end of the year, Sultan said.
Subscribers to Click GSM, Egypt's other mobile network operator, also have complaints, but to a lesser degree.
Bahaa El-Koussy, media specialist and public relations manager of Click GSM, said that the failure of Click's network which occurred about a week ago "was only temporary and lasted for a few hours." He attributed the failure to the company's installation of a third switch in addition to its expansion of the already existing two switches. Click has attracted140,000 subscribers in the six months since it started operating.
"Users expect mobile connections to be just as good as regular telephones, which is not possible," said El-Koussy. He compared mobile phone transmissions to sunlight. "Just as sunlight might not reach some rooms in the same building, so it is with mobile phone transmissions."
To eliminate fluctuations in the quality of service, what is needed, according to Omran of Misr International Systems, is that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) -- created last year with the privatisation of the telecommunications sector -- should regulate and organise the telecommunications business. He believes that the TRA should interfere in the current situation and limit subscriptions until the companies expand their networks.
However, according to an informed source, the current role of the TRA is only advisory. It monitors the execution of the contracts signed between the government and the private sector. "It is not established to inflict punishment, but rather to make sure that the contracts are carried out by both parties," he said, comparing it to a referee. The source further explained that the TRA's job is not limited to monitoring the mobile phone companies. It oversees all telecommunications activities, including, for example, the pay phone companies. Also among its responsibilities is the allocation of frequencies to each operator.
The private sector should be trusted more, according to the source. "The private sector is keen to invest its money in a proper way, and will not do something that may harm those investments."
While users were busy complaining of the cellular phone service, it was rumored that a third operator will soon enter the market. However, according to informed sources, the contracts signed by both the current operating companies contain a clause that states that no third operator will be allowed into the market until four years after the signing of their contracts.
