New UAE regulatory framework aims to boost competition

C GPS.gifThe UAE's telecoms regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), has introduced a new competition framework that will crack down on anti-competitive practices and ensure greater competition between operators.

Last November, a YouGov Siraj lifestyle survey in the UAE found that 57% of mobile users in the Emirates would consider changing mobile provider if they were allowed.

With the new framework the TRA is clearly engaged in ways to make that more of a possibility for more users. Last October, the TRA announced it was set to launch mobile number portability - a key step on the road to increasing choice.

Speaking of the new framework, Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, director general of the TRA, said; The framework will not only ensure that TRA continues to foster growth and development of the telecommunication sector through the creation of sustainable, vibrant and fair competition, but will also give guidance to stakeholders operating in this sector as to what the TRA considers as being acceptable competitive behaviour."