Qatar telecom providers including Vodafone change network name to Tamim almajd

The country’s largest telecom provider Ooredoo has changed its network name to “Tamim almajd” (Glorious Tamim) in a show of support for Qatar’s leader.

The company made the announcement on Twitter late on Thursday evening.

Ooredoo could easily make the change because it is majority state-owned, like many major companies in Qatar.

According to its website, Qatar-based “government-related entities” own 68 percent of it, though the UAE-based ADIA owns 10 percent.

Finally, 22 percent of its shares are free-floating, owned by those in Qatar, the US, UK and other nations.

Vodafone joins in

Rival Vodafone initially offered users the option of coming into its stores to change their phones’ network names to support the Emir.

But then later on in the afternoon, it rolled out the change across its network.

Though Vodafone is a British multinational company, its Qatar subsidiary is 70 percent Qatari-owned.

The move comes amid tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, who last month announced the severing of all diplomatic ties over allegations Doha bankrolled “terrorists” and had close ties with Saudi arch-rival, Iran.

Vodafone Qatar recently appointed a new chief operating officer and member of the Qatari royal family, Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani.

Vodafone does not operate in Saudi Arabia or the UAE.

Source: Doha News