KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait's online community has begun a campaign against a price-fixing oligopoly that allegedly has been formed by the country's internet service providers.
The group organising the campaign - Q8 Cap - say the companies that supply the local market with internet services have "enraged" customers this year by coordinating to raise prices and introduce daily quotas that limit downloading.
"The ISPs are stubborn and insist on ripping off consumers," said a spokesman for Q8 Cap, who declined to be named. The group has used support through Twitter and a dedicated website, and spread its message through interviews with the media and a seminar.
In a sign that politicians are increasingly aware of the online community's political influence, three parliamentarians threw their support behind the campaign at the seminar this week.
"The internet in Kuwait has always been expensive and slow in comparison to other countries but [before] it didn't have a quota," the spokesman said. Since June, internet users have had their internet usage capped at about 2.8 gigabytes per day, which is just 13.3 per cent of the data a customer with a connection of 2 megabits per second (Mbps) should be able to download, he said.
When the limit is breached, the connection speed slows to a snail's pace until the following day, internet users say.
"You're always thinking, 'I'm getting to the limit,'" said Yousef Al Rasheed, a Kuwaiti online gamer who runs the 5lejna.net website. "Instead of buying more technology and paying more money, they're taking services from users."
"I play the X-box and if I install one game, I will have a really slow connection for the rest of the day," he said. "When that happens, you just turn off the computer and forget about it."
Earlier this year, Mr Al Rasheed's website ran a survey of internet speeds in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The survey found that Kuwait's maximum available connection speed of 8Mbps is the slowest in the region along with Qatar.
"In Kuwait, the price of an 8Mbps connection is higher than a 100Mbps in Saudi Arabia," Mr al Rasheed said.
Waqar Ahmed Qureshi, a manager at Qualitynet, one of Kuwait's ISPs, said the country is "not necessarily" the most expensive for internet users in the region and he would have to check the website's survey to see if it was "comparing apples to apples".
Mr Qureshi said other countries, such as Bahrain, limit downloading too, and the restrictions are there to "discourage abusers", such as people who download movies to copy and sell them. He said the company studied the problem before applying the cap, and found that it would not affect 95 per cent of customers.
Q8 Cap argues that combating piracy is the responsibility of the chamber of commerce and the ministry of interior, not the ISPs.
When asked if the companies are coordinating to fix prices, Mr Qureshi said: "I can't comment on that. I don't know."
Kuwait does not have a telecommunications regulatory Aauthority, so the ISPs work in a "collaborative effort" with the ministry of communications, Mr Qureshi said. He said he has heard that the ministry has decided to scrap the daily quotas and he is expecting to hear an official announcement soon.
A source at the ministry said the undersecretary recently met with representatives of the ISPs and demanded that the companies lower their prices and remove the cap, but they have yet to respond.
Faisal Al Muslim, an MP, said at the recent seminar to discuss the issue that ministry officials had promised him that prices would be reduced, but nothing has materialised yet.
"The government is complicit in this scam against the consumer and an interpellation request will be submitted," local newspapers reported Mr Al Muslim as saying, suggesting that the minister of communication will be questioned over the issue in parliament if it is not resolved.
The Q8 Cap spokesman said more MPs "are coming out from under the rock" to support the campaign.
"We live in a digital age where everything is online now: games, TV, socialisation, communications, work," he said. "And rather than using the country's wealth to progress, we're digressing to the 1990s.
"Many officials have not caught up with technology and we, the children of the digital age, find it frustrating."
jcalderwood@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Fight card
Preliminaries:
Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)
Main card:
Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)
Title card:
Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)
Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)
Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)
The specs
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Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Company%20profile
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World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Manchester City 4
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Real Madrid 1
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Two stars
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FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
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UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
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Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
The%C2%A0specs%20
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The%20specs
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