Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

Why Vodafone had to play ball with Egypt’s Government

Although I was none-too-impressed by Vodafone’s behaviour in Egypt over the past few days, I would like to make it clear that I absolutely understand it.

Time for some admonishing from an anonymous reader who explains very clearly why Vodafone had no choice but to switch service off:

1: Licence. Vodafone has a licence, a Spectrum Licence. I’ve never seen it so this is just a guess but I’d imagine in that licence was a few bits about “national security” and allowing the government to turn it off and on in the event of an issue like this.. (you can bet your ass the UK licence has similar clauses!) If Vodafone did not comply, what would happen? It might lose the licence and the thousands of employees would lose their jobs.. Then the domino effect of all the other Vodafone Opco countries governments wondering why Vodafone didn’t comply with a legal order to shut down, then perhaps pulling their licence… This would be an end to Vodafone. 50K people out of a job, tens of billions in shares, rendered worthless overnight. Dramatic? Maybe? possible? Who knows!

2: Capacity. Vodafone provides the radio but doesn’t own fibre into or within Egypt. Who do you think they  buy it from? That’s right. The BT equivalent out there, owned by the Egyptian state.. So if we didn’t comply, they’d just kill our backhaul.. Which, let me tell you, would take MUCH longer to bring back up..

Agreed. You make excellent points. I do get this! I did end my article(s) agreeing that Vodafone had no choice. It’s just a shock, I think.

Still it looks like service should be back on in a few days either way, right?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...