Telecommunications Regulatory Authority postpones 3G launching

Minister of Post, Information and Communication Technology, Zahra Derdouri, announced on Thursday, on postponing the initiation of the 3G service marketing for the mobile phones to the end December instead of the beginning of the same month, due to the delay in the issuance of the Executive Order relating to the granting of the license to the three customers, Mobilis, Ooredoo and Djezzy.

“The final license will be granted before the end of next week, a process that immediately followed the control authority of post and telecommunications authority, of the three mobile phone operators with the offers which they intend to market in the area of ​​data”, the Minister added.

Power of settings forced the three mobile phone operators to put up new SIM cards for the 3G services, which requires programming by the customers before it is put on the market for trading, as it proceeded in the distribution of a new package of numbers that will be allocated to dealers to put up the third generation service.

“Every operator needs some time to program the 3G programming numbers which will be granted to them by the setting authority of the post and telecommunications”.

Joseph ـJed, General Manager of “Ooredoo” (Nedjma) opposed the proposal of using new SIM cards, asserting, in a press conference on Thursday night in Algiers, that the proposal of the power of settings is too expensive for the operators’ customers, because it requires buying new SIM cards.

Only North Korea and Sudan have used a second SIM card for the 3G services, while all the rest of the world countries serve the 3G and even the 4G in the same number.

Ooredoo GM Joseph Gad commented on the decision and confirmed that the process is inconsistent, in essence, with the principle of generalization and democratization of the use of 3G mobile services in Algeria, which government is keen to adopt since years.

“Ooredoo is ready to launch the service directly in the beginning of December at the level of 9 Wilayas of the country, and with a very good service, according to preliminary experiments that were conducted by the company’s experts, using the 3G for mobile”, he added.

“Justification that was declared by the power of settings is the separation of taxes, fees and turnover services of the second-generation and third-generation. Operators can provide all the details that prevent mixing between the numbers of each generation, which means that the justification of the power of settings is unfair”.

In his response to Echorouk question on security concerns behind requiring operators to introduce new SIM cards, Joseph Gad revealed on providing providing guarantees for the power of settings on the non-launch of the service on all the unidentified SIM cards.

Previously, Algerian government has launched early on January 2008, a massive campaign to clean up the portfolio of operators from the unidentified SIM Cards, but failed to achieve the full objectives of the operation, due to the intransigence of the operators and their continued indulgence in presenting SIM cards without precise identities of their users.

Exchange of digital data on the mobile phone cells requires high security degrees for more protection, which requires a thorough knowledge of digital identity to all users of high flow speed of the mobile, as Algeria does not have, until today, a specialized agency in the field of digital security and information in general, and the specialized teams of police and gendarmerie provide the follow-up e-crimes.