Member of the Federal National Council, Obaid al-Ghoul al-Salami, affirmed that the level of culture and awareness of the great segment of the country's citizens and residents on its lands greatly qualifies them to judge the quality of services provided by various vital sectors in the state, pointing out that the large number of travel to the countries of the world, whether with the intention of tourism Or study or treatment, it allowed citizens and residents to use the communication services provided outside the state, and compare them with the services provided by service providers in the country, in terms of quality, speed, prices of local and international calls, the diversity of services, the availability of different applications and audio and video communication programs, attributing the public’s dissatisfaction with The two telecom companies are not competing between operators in the telecom sector.
Al-Salami said to «Emirates Today»: «No one denies that the telecommunications sector in the country is achieving great qualitative leaps regionally and internationally in the indicators of global competitiveness, and this leadership reached globally thanks to the guidance and support of leadership, contributed greatly to the continued work of government institutions in Corona's pandemic continued to spread, as a result of the development of the technological infrastructure of the telecommunications sector in the country.
He added, “Despite these international successes, which we commend, there is in contrast a state of dissatisfaction among the local public, as we have not seen competition between operators for the telecommunications sector, as happens in its competition for advanced positions in global competitiveness indicators, especially that the competition we seek is To satisfy the users in the country, by providing distinguished services with no exaggeration in their prices, and to maintain the high quality, diversity and inclusiveness of these services, compared to other countries, in addition to relying on the leadership directives that place the settlement file at the top of the priorities of the country ».
Al-Salami expressed his surprise that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) does not bind the two telecom operators operating in the country (Etisalat) and (Du), in the presence of the meetings of the Technical, Energy and Mineral Resources Committee of the Federal National Council, which was held to discuss the topic of services provided by them, stressing that this matter is not consistent With other positions of the authority, during which I obligated the two companies to be clear, transparent and truthful in the advertisements that are presented to the public, and not to mislead or deceive users, and called on them not to use the vocabulary "for free" and "unlimited" except in specific cases.
He stressed that the two companies' failure to attend the parliamentary committee meetings prohibited them from highlighting the bright side of the communications sector in the report of the committee, saying: “If the reason for the failure to attend the two companies is due to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, then that is a calamity, either if the reason is due to unilateral decisions by the two operating companies "The calamity is greater."
Al-Salami added: “If I were the place of any of the officials of the two companies, I would go to the committee’s meeting quickly with the head held high, and with all these impressive results and advanced global centers achieved by this strategic sector, I would put them on the meeting table in front of the chairman and members of the technical, energy and mineral wealth affairs committee, especially since one of the These two companies have the title of the strongest service brand in the Middle East and Africa in the telecommunications sector.
Increasing the localization rate
Member of the Federal National Council, Obaid Al-Ghoul Al-Salami, stressed that there is no dispute with the two companies that operate telecommunications services in the country (Etisalat) and (Du), but there is a difference about some important points, such as: improving the quality of services, providing appropriate prices to consumers, and raising the percentage of Emiratisation .
Al-Salami criticized what he described as the “golden and silver check temptations” that the two telecommunications companies offer to their employees from the national cadres and competencies, with the aim of encouraging them to quit work and dispense with their services, stressing that such incentives and temptations should be given to them for their excellence and dedication to work.