On the other end of the line

By Gihan Shahine
Those with no access to the Internet are likely to feel cut off from the world in today's cyber-aware global community. Now, however, a new voice service launched by Telecom Egypt (TE), the national telecommunications company, in cooperation with two private companies, Telecomedia and Telemedia, seeks to bring them back into the fold. The service focuses on leisure-related topics, like fashion, cooking and football -- sure to find a wide market in Egypt.
The new service, launched last June, was primarily designed to generate resources for TE to upgrade basic telecommunication services in Egypt, while satisfying the demands of an increasingly consumption-oriented society.
"We have many ambitious plans on the agenda," explains Abdallah Abbas, head of the new service and marketing department at TE. "Offering such services is one way of generating the needed resources and also meeting the needs of different categories of people."
All the service's numbers start with 0900, and all you have to do is select the service you want from the advertised list of options. You can then hear famous cook Mona Amer offering new and healthy recipes, or perhaps listen to fashion expert Dalia El-Beheiri's advice on the latest in fashion, make-up and hair.
For football fans, their favourite team's news is a phone call away. A short call also updates users with the latest from the stock exchange. There are jokes to make you laugh and horoscopes to make or break your day.
Addressing urgent social and psychological problems is the more serious face of the coin. The service offers professional help to several categories of people in trouble -- those suffering from addiction, depression or marital problems.
The number of users has not been released, but all those questioned by Al-Ahram Weekly seem to agree the new service is a hit.
"It's a lot of fun, I love it," says 22-year-old Rania Amer. Cooking is Amer's hobby, but she feels traditional recipes are boring; she likes to make modern, healthy food. "That is exactly what Mona Amer presents and, of course, making a phone call is easier than waiting to watch her programme on TV. Now I don't have to think of what to cook; I just dial up Amer's service number and enjoy trying new dishes. The nicest thing about the service is that its providers are highly professional."
Marwa Samir, 25, adds jokingly that the new service has helped her convince her fiancé she is a talented and innovative cook. "But I have also tried the other numbers, for fashion, jokes and horoscopes. They're a lot of fun," Samir adds.
That fun, however, is not exactly free: rates range from LE1 to LE1.50 a minute. Those rates triggered much fuss last summer, when consumers discovered their phone bills had skyrocketed. The press criticised the new service; parents felt their children were abusing it and demanded that it be made optional. In reaction, TE limited the service to subscribers, which served to annoy the two service-providing companies.
The service was discontinued for a time, then resumed a few days ago when TE chairman Akil Beshir announced that "differences had been settled. The specialised services will be available to all telephone users," he added, "while entertainment services will only be available on request."
"We were unfairly blamed for the expensive telephone bills but our rates had not even been factored in yet," complains the manager of one of the service providers, who prefers to have his name withheld. "Our rates will go down, though and, in any case, we make them public. Our services are not expensive, compared to that of mobile phones."
Cellular phones were similarly criticised when they first hit the market. Is this just knee-jerk rejection of the new? Perhaps. But there are also fears that Egypt is becoming a consumer society, when it can ill afford to divert precious resources away from basic needs like education.
So are such services essential in a country where half the population lives below the poverty line?
"Definitely," the manager retorts. "The aim of technology is a dialogue with society, and we have received a huge number of callers since the service was launched. Telephone-based services are not a luxury in our country. They satisfy several needs in society."
At least 100,000 users need quick and accessible updates on the stock market, he explains. Many others desperately need social and psychological counseling, while medical emergency hot-lines are essential, of course.
"Entertainment is also essential, especially in the rural areas, where there are so little amusement facilities," the source comments.
According to sports critic Alaa Sadeq, who presents football news, the voice service is doing well, attracting many football fans. "The voice service devotes more time to football than do other media, except newspapers and specialised channels," Sadeq explains. "We have more freedom than the print media and TV, and our news is more up to date."
As for areas where a phone call can theoretically make a difference between life and death, can the voice service be a substitute for face-to-face therapy?
"Of course not, but it does have other advantages," concedes Dr Jawad Fatayer, professor of psychology at the American University in Cairo (AUC), who handles telephone counseling at Telecomedia. A round-the-clock service, it is both cheaper and more private than visiting a psychiatrist's clinic.
"The service deals only with minor problems," Fatayer adds. "We provide advice and guidelines for solutions at a given level."
The psycho-social section deals with ills ranging from depression and substance abuse (addiction) to relationship problems
"Our service is important because many people tend to ignore their feelings of depression, which is very unhealthy," Fatayer maintains. "I would say depression is the most widespread of all mental problems; how people define or look into a situation could be the main cause of getting depressed," Fatayer says. "Depression is mental paralysis, for it makes people feel helpless, weak, disoriented and uninterested in life."
Combating addiction is also a top priority for Fatayer. The service has given him the chance to share his long experience with addicts, put addiction in the right perspective, and tell people what treatment programme could help them best.
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