In recent years, the quantity of international calls made from the Gulf states has been shooting up. More recently, the mobile phone networks in the Gulf states have been expanding exponentially. This explosive growth has meant a partial loss of control for the telephone tappers. These have been copied and widely distributed in the country, with little effective intervention by the security forces. The other key battleground of recent years has been a struggle for control of the airwaves.
Radio propaganda is nothing new in the Middle East.
Attempts to control radio broadcasts continue. In the course of its ongoing internal troubles, for instance, Bahrain has over the past two years sought to discredit and censor radio outlets, such as the BBC World Service. Television has, however, largely superseded radio as the propaganda weapon of choice. This phenomenon is especially marked in the Gulf where levels of income are sufficient to allow most households to own a TV set and, more importantly, to afford a satellite dish and decoder. When terrestrial broadcasting was the only option, Gulf governments had little to worry about.