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SMS messages nightmare

TECHNOLOGICAL development comes with a price, and this is something that the UAE residents have been experiencing for some time now. One such technological wonder is the mobile phone, and with it has come the various value-added facilities which service providers offer customers.

Published: Thu 26 May 2005, 10:16 AM

Updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 8:31 PM

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And the list of services keeps growing by the day, with service providers coming up with novel and new ideas to expand the customer base.

One hardly finds anyone without a mobile phone nowadays, with the gadget virtually turning out to be an extension of the self. But, when the service providers are completely profit-driven, then some of the so-called value-added services can turn out to be nightmares for mobile users.

There has been a spate of complaints from mobile users of late that Etisalat has turned exploitative, and has been facilitating misuse of some services like the SMS. Invitations to join chat groups, friendship circles and the likes have become a constant source of irritant for mobile users, since such SMS messages land up at any time of the day or night, literally invading the privacy of individuals.

With such a wide customer base, and virtual monopolistic control over the mobile services, Etisalat would do well to bear in mind the sentiments of its end users, many of whom have also complained that such offers also carry the risk of corrupting the minds of the young.

The argument is that these value-added services, or propaganda, could lead the youth astray since such activity may not be compatible with the social and cultural structure of the local society. Viewed against this background, the demand for some kind of monitoring may not be misplaced. But, will Etisalat accept that?


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