Dubai
Even though there is no formal policy framework to allow mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the UAE, the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) might just be considering its options, said an industry expert.
“Virgin Mobile, which already has MVNO operations in the region — in Jordan and Oman, as well as having won one of the three MVNOs licences in Saudi Arabia — recently announced its intention to enter the UAE market,” Paul Black, director of telecommunications and media at research firm International Data Corporation, told Gulf News.
Dubai-based Axiom Mobile was selected for a MVNO licence in Saudi Arabia last year. The regulator has rejected media claims in 2012 that it intends to introduce a new player in the country by the end of 2015.
He said the TRA has taken couple of significant initiatives. First, after years of delay, MNP was launched in the UAE; secondly, du and etisalat are now allowed to offer new prepaid mobile packages without prior regulatory approval.
These two initiatives are in line with the regulator’s vision to liberalise the market and enhance competition. These measures could also be early signs of the “further liberalisation of the UAE’s telecom market and the possible entry of a new player as MVNO,” he said.
