Egypt's National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has called on Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt to end its advertising campaigns aimed at attracting Mobinil customers to change their phone numbers and join their networks. NTRA advisor Mahmoud Algowiny was reported by Egypt's al-Borsa newspaper to have asked the mobile operators to end their transfer campaigns after Mobinil requested government intervention to protect it from boycotts. Algowiny said that mobile operators must consider surrounding circumstances facing any firm, the newspaper reported. 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
