Etisalat Egypt, the country's third largest telecom operator, has accused Mobinil of stalling on the transferring of clients to other networks, based on their requests. Etisalat has filed a complaint against Mobinil to Egypt's Telecommunications Regulatory Committee over the matter. Mobinil has denied stalling and said pressure from clients wanting to transfer to other companies has been high. The company said that this has meant that they are “taking more time” to make the transfers possible. Hassan Qabani, Mobinil's executive director, said that they are attempting to convince clients to stay with the company and not go to another operator. “It is our right,” he told reporters. Qabani added that the transfers are a result of “malice rumors and not because of the quality of service, therefore Mobinil tries to keep its existing clients and change their minds.” A number of Mobinil users have decided to leave the company after Orascom Telecom chief Naguib Sawiris – Orascom owns Mobinil – shared a cartoon featuring an Islamized Disney character with beards and a full face veil on Twitter. The cartoon showed Mickey Mouse with a beard and Mini Mouse wearing the niqab with a comment asking how if the conservative Salafist groups come to power, “this should be expected.” Sawiris has since apologized, saying the post was a joke and that it has been taken out of context. Mobinil shares have also seen drops in recent weeks. BM
