Thursday, Feb 03, 2011
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) Thursday said the Egyptian government had used its emergency powers to instruct mobile operators in the country to send messages to the Egyptian people.
"Under the emergency powers provisions of the Telecoms Act, the Egyptian authorities can instruct the mobile networks of Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of Egypt," Vodafone said in a statement on its website.
Vodafone said the authorities had done so since the start of the protests in the country and that the messages, the content of which wasn't immediately clear, weren't scripted by any of the operators.
"Vodafone Group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable," the statement said. "We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator."
Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services (EMOB.CI), or Mobinil, said earlier Thursday short message service in Egypt is still down, a day after the state restored internet services in the country amid widespread political unrest.
Etisalat Egypt, a subsidiary of U.A.E.-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (ETISALAT.AD), or Etisalat, has also confirmed resumption of services after the latest Egypt turmoil.
-By Adrian Kerr, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 (0) 207 842 9309; adrian.kerr@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-02-11 1311GMT
