Dubai: The competition between telecoms operators etisalat and du did not bring in cheaper rates or improve quality of services, the Federal National Council (FNC) was told yesterday.
Hamad Hareth Hamad Al Midfa, a member from Sharjah, said the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), failed to protect the interests of customers and instead has been working for the good of the operators.
Al Madfa, who chairs an ad hoc committee on public utilities, added the TRA used surveys done by the operators to gauge customer satisfaction over their services. "The telecoms watchdog should have its surveys done to get first-hand information about satisfaction of the customers. The committee found that many services including long-distance calls and internet services are priced at higher rates compared with rates in neighbouring countries. Moreover, the same operator offers more affordable rates in foreign countries, than in the UAE," he said.
Al Madfa demanded that the TRA slap fines on any operator which fails to provide the services paid for by customers.
Dr Nidhal Mohammad Al Tunaiji, a member from Ras Al Khaimah, said that the telecoms sector in the country was even better before the TRA was set up, referring to the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which showed the UAE getting a higher ranking in 2004 than in 2008.
The NRI, which is published annually, measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology.
Mohammad Nasser Al Ganem, director-general of the TRA, however said the authority has succeeded in increasing the mobile telephone penetration rate to 204 per cent or a total of 10,672 subscribers, a growth rate of 85 per cent, compared to 2005.
"Internet penetration shot up to 67.3 per cent or a total of 1.4 million subscribers," he said.
