* Says lost 1 mln subscribers, now has 3.65 mln
* Says many sites repaired, but cannot reach some areas
By Matt Smith
DUBAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Yemeni mobile phone operator
Sabafon, which last year blamed the government for attacks on
its network infrastructure and reduced services for customers,
said on Monday it has since won back a fifth of the 1 million
subscribers it lost due to service disruptions.
In December, the firm, which is 27-percent owned by Bahrain
Telecommunications Co (Batelco), said it had come
under repeated attack from state forces due to its chairman’s
support for protests aiming to end the 33-year rule of Ali
Abdullah Saleh. A government spokesman denied that Sabafon was
deliberately targeted.
“We lost almost 1 million subscribers and managed to get
back around 200,000,” a spokesman for Sabafon said on Monday in
an emailed response to questions from Reuters, adding it now had
3.65 million subscribers.
“Landlines, international and GPRS (mobile) services were
restored but the negative effect of the disconnection is still
there as many international operators after the long period of
disconnection decided to route their traffic to other
operators.”
Sabafon competes against MTN Yemen, a unit of South Africa’s
MTN, and state-run Yemen Mobile.
Sabafon described the situation in Yemen as “improving
slowly” following Saleh’s exit in February, with the company’s
relationship with Yemen’s government also on the mend.
Continued…
