Jordanian blogger Basem drew attention to an article published in the on-line magazine Elaph (Arabic) where it was revealed that Jordan’s number one mobile operator — Fastlink — was found guilty of spying on Jordan’s second largest GSM provider, Mobilecom.

According to the article, Fastlink created a special unit solely dedicated to spying on Mobilecom. Fastlink hired employees and paid them salaries to perform these "spying" duties — yes, industrial espionage. The article in full is here (Arabic).

I wonder why the mainstream Jordanian media didn’t pick up and report this important piece of news. Why do we have to learn this kind of vital business story from an on-line source? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but so far I haven’t seen this report anywhere in the local media.

Why did Jordanian media shy away from reporting this? Maybe it’s simply because Fastlink is Jordan’s number one advertiser. The Jordanian press probably thinks twice before daring to air Fastlink’s dirty laundry, as they might risk losing a prime source of revenue. They will not bite the hand that feeds them. But then again, perhaps I’m just speculating!