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UAE Telecommunications Report Q1 2008Product Type: Market Research ReportPublished by: Business Monitor International Published: January 2008 Product Code: R302-1855 Description The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has ruled out the possibility of allowing aforeign-owned operator to enter the country’s mobile market. It will instead remain in the hands ofEtisalat and du, and therefore the state. However, the regulator appears to be in two minds as to whetherit will invite bids for a third mobile network operator. While saying on the one hand that it has not lookedinto the matter, it admits that it is inevitable that there will be a third mobile network operator in time. Inthe meanwhile, it hopes that the introduction of mobile number portability will soften the clamour formore competition. While there is a strong case for there being no need for further competition in the UAE’s saturated mobilemarket - it is currently around the 140% level and BMI expects this to increase to over 170% by the endof our forecast period in 2012 - mobile services remain expensive. There is a good argument forcompetition to be intensified to force tariffs down, and perhaps promote wireless value-added services.Incumbent operator Etisalat insists it is not concerned at the prospect of a third operator, even welcomingthe fact that such an arrival would place pressure on du. There is no doubt that alternative operator du has had a good first year. Only launching commercialservices in February 2007, already it has one million mobile subscribers as the country’s overall marketbreaks the seven million mark. Already du controls a 12.4% share of the local market. It is little surprisetherefore that Etisalat is preparing to extend its international footprint both through further investments inAfrica, where it sees huge potential, and in Gulf states such as Qatar, where it is bidding for a thirdmobile licence, and Oman, where it hopes to acquire a stake in incumbent operator Omantel.While the government has extended its restrictions over internet usage to UAE’s free economic zones,blocking any sites featuring ‘adult content and the promotion of vice, drug and alcohol use and violence’,the regulator has put a stop to du’s monopoly of fixed-line and internet services in Dubai’s economiczones, which house more than 2,000 multinational companies. Table of Contents
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