The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority on Monday issued a violation decision against Etisalat for maintaining a block on a short code number in contravention of the TRA’s instructions to lift the block.
du has been running a media campaign aimed at raising awareness among mobile users of the advent of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the UAE. One aspect of this campaign involves inviting
consumers to send an SMS to short code 3553. Consumers who did this would receive an SMS from du containing information about MNP.
It came to the TRA’s attention that the short code 3553 had been blocked by Etisalat. This meant that Etisalat mobile subscribers who sent a message to the short code did not receive a response from du.
It is understood that this block has been in effect since around November 21.
On November 22, the TRA instructed Etisalat to immediately lift the block on the short code 3553 and any other short codes used by du to promote its products and services.
On November 25, the TRA issued Etisalat with a violation decision in response to Etisalat’s failure to comply with these instructions.