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Applications for Shamil connection cancelled

They also say that Etisalat had said two months back that approval of applications and installation of the hardware could be delayed only by a couple of weeks, but there has been no information on the status of pending applications even now.

Last month, Khaleej Times reported on the expected delay in the connections due to a huge backlog of applications pending action.

“It has been two months since I applied for a wireless Al Shamil Internet connection. Once I was told that there could be delay since a new system was being installed. Now when I enquired, I was told that my application has automatically been cancelled,” said M. Abid (name changed).

“I was not informed about the cancellation, and if I had not followed up, I would not have known this. The technical support person at the Etisalat customer support centre, however, told me that I would be contacted soon. But when exactly? I do not know what to do though I need an urgent connection,” he adds.

Nair S., who has applied for an upgrade, says, “I have also been informed after I followed up with the service provider that the connections could take up to six months since a new system is being installed or upgraded. I have taken back my application. I will reapply at a later stage.”

Another customer Shahnawaz Khan (name changed) said he had paid in advance for the installation of the wireless hardware connection. “I paid Dh200 in advance while I requested for the rest to be included in my bill. But now I have been informed that my previous application has been cancelled and I will be contacted after my turn comes in the Etisalat queue system. They also say that the delays are because of upgrades being made in the area that I reside in,” he adds.

Omar Al Muzakki, Director, Marketing, Consumer Services, Etisalat, said, “Each application has its unique case record, and we would need to look at them individually to provide the status. But once customers have applied for a connection, Etisalat contacts them according to our queuing system to schedule site surveys. If the customer is repeatedly unavailable on all the provided contact numbers, the application is closed after a reasonable period. If any customer experiences such a cancellation, they can provide their original service order number for Etisalat’s reference when they reapply for the service.”

Al Muzakki, however, said that Etisalat did not charge any advance payments for its Al Shamil service. “Provision of the service depends on various technical and geographical factors, and so it is only after a full customer site survey that Etisalat considers the service order as fulfilled,” he said.

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