Tripoli, 24 May:
Libya, it seems, is in danger of becoming one of the world’s most researched countries. Reports are being written, . . .[restrict]almost invariably by international organisations, on virtually every aspect of Libyan society.
Some, like the UNICEF initiative to work with the government to identify and help children traumatised by the violence of the conflict, are clearly of consummate use.
Others are more questionable. On Wednesday, IE Market Research Corp, with offices in the UK and US, announced a new report – “4Q11 Libya Mobile Operator Forecast, 2012 – 2015: Libya to have 19.2 million mobile subscriber connections in 2015”.
For a mere €978, anyone wanting to know the intricate details of the Libyan mobile market could obtain the document.
The quality of the research however has to be in doubt since the blurb on the website extolling the analysis reads: “ Mobile Operator Forecast on Libya (the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) provides key operational and financial metrics for Libya’s wireless market and is one of the best forecasts in the industry.”
If a research company cannot even get the name of a country right, is its analysis likely to be worth anything like $1,200 ?
The Libya Herald approached Research and Markets, an agency selling the report on behalf of IE Market Research Corp, for a comment. After six minutes of a very bad electronic rendition of Beethoven’s Fûr Elise, a receptionist promised to have someone come back to us. As of this evening, no response had been received.
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