Phony war erupts over 4G bragging rights

Middle East telecoms operators have been in a headlong rush, all claiming to be the first to deliver fourth-generation services. But their haste threatens to backfire, Ben Flanagan writes.

The lack of clarity about the definition of 4G is being used by telecoms operators to make various claims about their services. Philip Cheung / The National

It's probably safe to assume that Aesop's fables do not crop up that often in the day-to-day running of Middle East telecommunications companies.

One would think that boardrooms are so full of talk of the great BlackBerry "crumble" that ancient Greek storytellers just don't get a look-in.

But the likes of Etisalat, du and the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) could do worse than Googling The Tortoise and the Hare, assuming they can find a decent internet connection.

For in the race to launch high-speed fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband, regional telecoms companies - like the hare - have been extremely quick to brag about how fast they are. But it seems they have fallen asleep before the finish line in actually delivering these high-tech networks.

Since the middle of last month, five Middle East telecoms companies have made claims to be first in launching 4G mobile broadband.

STC, Mobily and Zain Saudi Arabia each claimed to be first to launch 4G services in Saudi Arabia. They made rival boasts within days of each other, posting near-identical claims on their websites.

Two weeks later, Etisalat entered the public relations war, as it became the fourth operator to make such a claim.

The UAE operator argued that it was the first in the region to launch 4G with "full mobility".

And at the beginning of this month, Etisalat's rival du was at it too. The firm sent out a statement boasting that its customers "were the first to experience the fastest nationwide 4G mobile broadband in the UAE".

Clearly, not all of these rival boasts can be true. So far, only du in the UAE has faced action over its claims: the operator was forced to suspend its advertising by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

Confusion about the actual definition of "4G" is largely responsible for this PR war among operators.

Du claimed that its network, which uses technology called HSPA+, constitutes "4G" as defined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which sets the standards on such issues.

But the ITU's definitions are, themselves, rather unclear.

Matthew Reed, a senior analyst for the Middle East and Africa at Informa Telecoms & Media, says the ITU "has not been entirely consistent" in its definition of the term "4G".

Other technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE), Wimax and even some third-generation networks could also be classed as 4G, according to a statement set out by the ITU last December.

"I believe that this is the statement that du is citing as evidence that its HSPA+ network is '4G'. T-Mobile in the US has been doing something similar," says Mr Reed.

Etisalat said its 4G network uses LTE technology.

But even that may not be "4G" in its truest sense: Mr Reed says that, strictly speaking, only the next-generation of LTE, called LTE Advanced, qualifies as 4G.

So under the strictest of definitions, neither of the UAE operators has launched 4G services.

And under the most lax definitions, both have.

"Du seems to be taking advantage of the lack of clarity about the definition of 4G to mount a PR spoiling operation ahead of Etisalat's LTE launch," Mr Reed says.

This one-upmanship over 4G between Middle East operators is likely to be counterproductive.

Worldwide, there is already confusion about 4G. According to a survey by Nielsen, 49 per cent of US adults don't understand what it is.

Another study by the gadgets blog Retrevo.com found that 34 per cent of iPhone users are under the false impression that they already own a 4G phone - despite Apple not making 4G handsets.

This confusion could make customers "hesitant" in adopting such technologies, the study noted.

Faced with dwindling revenues from voice calls, mobile data services are becoming more and more important for Middle East telecoms companies.

Fourth-generation mobile phones are not yet widely available in the region - but the technology will undoubtedly take off.

And so Middle East telecoms companies should drop their PR war, because the battle for 4G customers will be a marathon, rather than a sprint. Making premature boasts about 4G brings to mind another of Aesop's fables: The Boy Who Cried Wolf.