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 Etisalat, Etisalat, where did it all go so wrong?
The scandal involving the UAE telco’s apparent attempt to push could-be spyware out to its BlackBerry users has been doing the rounds for a good while now, and until today Etisalat had only broken its silence with a short and rather fatuous statement.
(If you’re unfamiliar with the situation, we commend you to look here for a decent summary. We're not going to delve into the rights and wrongs of operator-mandated spyware here.)
Now, though, an executive from the operator has gone on record with ArabianBusiness.com to explain the situation – and has come out with the same load of cobblers as Etisalat’s first statement.
“Etisalat has 3G and 2G networks and this [the patch] was to enhance the handover from 3G to 2G when people are moving around the UAE as 3G is not 100%. 3G is 97% coverage,” said Abdulla Hashim, veep for enterprise solutions at Etisalat, speaking to AB.com.
Hashim is holding the telco’s earlier line here, maintaining that NOTHING UNTOWARD AT ALL was going on with this patch, and whoops, it was all a bit of a boo-boo.
Oh lordy, where to start?
To begin with, we’re so past this point now: when even Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices, has stated that you’re talking sloblock, you’re going to have to do something different.
RIM’s statement, in fact, pretty much demolishes any hope of Etisalat being able to trot out this argument convincingly. Here’s the statement:
“RIM confirms that this software is not a patch and it is not a RIM authorized upgrade. RIM did not develop this software application and RIM was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application.
RIM further confirms, in general terms, that a third party patch cannot provide any enhancements to network services as there is no capability for third parties to develop or modify the low level radio communications protocols that would be involved in making such improvements to the communications between a BlackBerry smartphone and a carrier’s network.
In addition, RIM is not aware of any technical network concerns with the performance of BlackBerry smartphones on Etisalat’s network in the UAE.”
So, that would be a big old NO, then.
From a media standpoint – in fact, from every standpoint imaginable – Etisalat has played the game unbelievably badly with this mess.
Assume first Etisalat is telling the truth, and this is – despite RIM’s statement – a performance-enhancing patch.
In this case, it would need to go into much more detail regarding the patch, perhaps selecting one or two balanced tech/comms journalists, along with an independent programmer, and explaining to them how it was supposed to work.
But then assume, for the sake of argument, that Etisalat’s patch was NOT the performance-enhancing update it claimed it to be. We know this one’s a stretch, but stay with us here.
After lying about the patch when it sent it out, and lying again in the statement – and being roundly denounced and booed by programmers, columnists, industry experts AND the device’s vendor – Etisalat then lies once more, but without even an ATTEMPT to address the points made by its critics.
For example, it could have explained more about what the patch was meant to do, and what circumstances it would be used in - or even cited another wing of the UAE establisment as requiring this patch to be pushed out.
But there’s probably no way back from that last lie, now – at least the inaccurate statement could have been blamed on “miscommunication” or something. Not now, though – already blogs, Twitter and actual people talking to each other are voicing a deep and unstoppable anger towards the telco.
Either way – and we’re working on the assumption that AB.com printed the greater substance of Hashim’s statement – it needed to say something different, or say a lot more.
And not only that, but Etisalat has managed to piss off the group of people it would LEAST like to alienate – all those high-earning, high-usage Crackberry owners, who are now feeling betrayed and hurt.
At this stage we would love to be able to offer some explanation as to how Etisalat managed to get this all so, so wrong. Unfortunately, we can’t think of any really good reasons at all. In fact, we’re pretty mystified as to how it managed to mess up so badly.
We are however going to offer a minor mitigating circumstance for Etisalat – it seems that its senior marketing execs are currently on vacation, leaving something of a communications vacuum at the top. AdNation has been trying to get Etisalat to comment on another matter, and been told that no-one will be available for some time.
But even this is a fairly feeble excuse – and if this were happening in a country with more than two mobile operators, it would be frankly inexcusable.
Indeed, if Etisalat were a publicly traded company, with decent competition, we would expect to see high-level resignations, public apologies, and probably an unpleasant dip in its share price.
As it is, it’s probably only Etisalat’s status in a telecoms duopoly that will mean this little scandal has little lasting effect.
In the annals of PR, though, this is going to live on for a long time as a major entry in the “What Not To Do” section.
Etisalat + BlackBerry = FAIL.
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