Mobile service providers in Egypt complained on Thursday that the National Communications Committee has yet to reimburse them for the Internet and mobile cuts during the January uprising earlier this year. The three telecommunications companies in Egypt were forced to shut down their services for days by the country's security services during the popular uprising that began on January 25 and resulted in the ousting of the government on February 11. The government has promised to reimburse each company for losses incurred. The three operators, Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat, already presented a report stating the damages they endured as a result of the forced shut down. The regulation law of communications in Egypt states that the government has the right to order the shutting down of communications, but the government is required to reimburse the companies afterward for their financial losses. Khaled Hegazy, manager of external and governmental affairs at Vodafone Egypt, said that they have not heard back from the ministry of communications regarding the compensation. Also during the uprising, the mobile companies were also forced to send pro-government SMS messages to their clients. Egypt's NCC said they are continuing to study the report presented by the three operators. BM
