OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2013. EMT completely refutes claims made by an anonymous source in an article „EMT Sacrificed Old Customers to Fourth Generation" (http://www.postimees.ee/1348526/emt-ohverdas-vanad-kunded-neljandale-generatsioonile ) that the 4G network was built at the expense of decreased signal quality in 2G and 3G networks.

The article states that: "This undisputed expert in the telecom field elaborated that EMT used the same antennas, cables and amplifiers to create three coverage areas out of two. "The more the resources are shared, the less there is available."" Another quote: ""I'm not aware of any other 4G networks being built in Europe using this method".

EMT has built the LTE 800 network partially by sharing antennas and cables with the 3G network. This method is also used in combining other systems besides LTE, both in Estonia and abroad. This certainly does not decrease the coverage area and signal quality in the 3G network because combining signals of different frequencies on one cable and antenna does not decrease penetration. The 4G network does not share any resources with the 2G (GSM) network. Neither antenna nor transmitter amplifier are shared, and this would also be technically impossible.

Additionally, EMT would like to point out that EMT refuted the claim already during a phone interview given to Nils Niitra. Despite this, the article headline states the claim as a fact, and thus it is misleading, as opinion is not separated from fact: an opinion of one side is presented as a fact despite of EMT refuting the allegation. Journalism ethics code states that "News, opinions and assumptions should be clearly distinguishable from each other. News should be based on factual information that can be proved. Photos, photo captions, titles, leading sentences and intros cannot be misleading."

The editorial board, just as the reporter, has a responsibility to check the credibility of sources and factual background. However, in this case, the article draws wide conclusions on the service quality of EMT based on unchecked information. And this, in turn, damages company reputation and misleads the general public.