A parliamentary move to limit Asiacell's blackmail to its subscribers




August 4, 2017

Baghdad - Journal News
"Charge your line before midnight to avoid service" This is the most talked about day with Asiacell network subscribers who have reduced the life of shipping cards by half to force their customers to pay as a new means of extortion without government control. Once the balance is over, Messages in which the subscriber is warned to disconnect from the service if he does not fill a new recharge card.

A number of Asiacell subscribers said on Friday that the company is forcing its subscribers to recharge the balance and in a limited time period through the warning messages it sends, threatening to cut the service and stop the line.

The participants told the Journal News that "Asiacell had previously given a period of not less than a month in the event of the mobilization of the balance category of five thousand dinars, while giving two to three in case of mobilization of the balance of 10 thousand dinars, but today gives 15 days Only for the first category while the second category, which is ten thousand dinars to 30 days. "

The participants appealed to "the government to intervene to stop blackmail companies, especially Asiacell for subscribers, especially the owners of old lines who may not be able to leave easily and transfer to other networks."

In the same context, member of the Services and Construction Committee MP Hussein al-Maliki told the «Journal News», that "because of the absence of strong competition and pluralism in Iraq, the companies of Asiacell, Zain and Cork on the telecommunications sector in general and began to refuse large fees without a real control of them as their work within the private sector "Noting that" the Committee addressed more than once the Communications Authority to intervene. "

He added that "the committee will address the media and communications to pressure the networks to increase the time to mobilize the balance in addition to the financial cost collected from the categories of mobilization in line with the current economic situation," noting that "the Services Committee proposed to open a new government communications company to compete for The telecom sector and breaking the dominance imposed by the three companies at the present time. "

It is noteworthy that a company such as "Asiacell" Ghent as a result of the expansion of its revenues amounted to 4.10 trillion Iraqi dinars for 2012, while doubled during the year 2015 to reach 6.17 trillion Iraqi dinars.

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