Mobinil’s CEO says less than 1 mln clients lost due to boycott

Hassan Kabbani, CEO of Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (Mobinil) said that the number of subscribers who requested switching their numbers to other telecom operators due to the boycott campaigns did not exceed one million.


On the sidelines of the press conference held yesterday to launch an initiative to employ 100 thousand nationals in micro projects, Kabbani indicated that Mobinil’s operations were severely hurt by the current fierce boycott campaigns.


He pointed out that the telco’s two rival operators, Vodafone and Etisalat Misr, capitalized on such campaigns through offering number portability promotions.


The Egyptian people should stand by Mobinil, as it is the only national mobile phone operator and currently has more than 5000 employees, the CEO said.


Calls to boycott Mobinil were triggered by a cartoon of bearded Mickey and veiled Minnie, which was posted by the telco’s major shareholder and telecom mogul Naguib Sawiris on Twitter. The post was considered by conservative Muslims as insulting.


However, Kabbani confirmed that the EGX-listed telecom operator will proceed with its operations, adding that it will resume its solid performance through ensuring quality and launching commercial promotions.


He also noted that nearly EGP 3 billion were injected in Mobinil’s investments this year.


In a different context, the CEO requested National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to amend the interconnection fees with Telecom Egypt (TE), describing them as unfair.