Jordan’s MobileCom is taking legal action against Fastlink for industrial espionage, representing one of Jordan's first cases of corporate spying.
"We believe that Fastlink approached some MobileCom employees and paid them to have inside information," said MobileCom CEO, Mickael Ghossein at a recent press conference. "The case is ongoing, I will not say more, but I believe we have a solid case."
The information that was allegedly passed on to Fastlink employees is not known, however it is believed that marketing strategies and new offers were revealed, reported Jordan Times.
The lawsuit is the latest episode in an intense competition war between the two mobile operators. In January 2001, Fastlink sought permission to change its numbering system from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission's (TRC), entrusted with organizing the telecommunication sector in the country. The expansion would raise the network’s capacity to more then a million subscribers.
However, Mobilecom, the cellular subsidiary of Jordan Telecommunication Company (JTC), which commenced operations in 2000, opposed the decision saying it was informed of the expansion plan on very short notice and needed more time to adapt to the impact on its operations.
The TRC attempted to settle the dispute through a series of meetings with both sides, and concluded that the change in the numbering system would be delayed from September 21, 2001, until the beginning of November. JTC’s Mobilecom then filed a lawsuit against the TRC and Fastlink, in response to which Supreme Court decided to freeze Fastlink’s move.
Over the past three years, mobile penetration has skyrocketed from 2.4 to 21.1 percent, owing to competition between the two operators. Penetration rates exceeded 15 percent in 2001, when the number of GSM lines exceeded the number of fixed lines for the first time ever. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
