Update: Last time I ramble uncaffeinated! fixed facts! Sorry Mobily.
Both the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) and Mobily has announced yesterday that they are the first to offer HSPA+ (Evolved HSPA with download speeds up to 56Mbit/s!!!). They announced the same thing in at least 2 different Saudi newspapers: AlRiyadh and Al-Eqtisadiah simultaneously!
Here are STC’s “news” articles: on AlRiyadh newspaper and Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper (Arabic links). The two articles are identical, in fact they are most likely a press release by STC. STC claims to be the first in the country, however…
Mobily had the same thing: on AlRiyadh newspaper and Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper. In addition, the news was also announced in Saudi Gazette English newspaper. The first part was identical to the Arabic press releases however it did include some info about the new Mobily Connect modem promotion. Mobily claimed to be the first in the region, makes no sense because…
STC was wrong!Both were wrong!
At least one telecommunications company had HSPA+ with 21Mbit/s available in the region. Zain Kuwait had HSPA+ since September 2009 (Kuwait News Agency link) and is called e-GO. Isn’t Kuwait party of the “region”? So why is Mobily claiming to be the first in the region when Zain Kuwait clearly had it first and who is bringing it first in Saudi Arabia? STC or Mobily? Both claim to be the first. Zain Kuwait actually released an HSPA+ device (Kuwait News Agency link). I found nothing about Zain Kuwait updating their network.
The Big Question
Two major Arabic speaking newspapers (AlRiyadh and Al-Eqtisadiah) published conflicting articles, each claiming to be the first. Why didn’t the newspapers verify the information first? How can the readers take them seriously?
Image source: www.sequence.cc/SMS_main.php
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Hello khaled, it’s my first time visiting your blog, it looks great btw
As for the newspapers, It has been and will continue to be the norm for them. I can not count how many times I have found an article that does not make sense or about ridiculously trivial things. Don’t get me started on copy rights also …
welcome to the site!
it’s funny, STC considers Mobily’s “Region” to not include Saudi Arabia :p
the streets has been full of mobily ads for the new service, I saw nothing from STC. I think that STC is leeching off the hype this time.
Hmm… Can I inquire about something: Who cares who was the 1st? The performance by both is shameful.
I would like to see Mobily releasing a map of HSPA+