More Products:
United Arab Emirates - Market Intelligence Report
|
Market Intelligence Reports provide an invaluable mix of vital market data and background information, including telecoms regulation. Until 2006, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) telecommunications market had been effectively monopolised by a single state-controlled company that operated all information and communications networks in the country, served all communications service users, and acted as the de-facto regulatory body for telecommunications. The company in question is Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), which is 60%-owned by the state. The country was bound to commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to liberalise the telecommunications sector by the end of 2005, and new legislation adopted in 2004 resulted in the creation of a new "independent" regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). A second national public telecommunications operator - trading as du - was established later in 2005, with its backers coming from the UAE public sector, although it was not able to begin operating until early-2007. There are currently no plans to liberalise other segments of the market. In the local press, Etisalat has indicated that it is preparing for liberalisation, with Internet telephony a market it is watching with particular interest. However, the TRA has decided to block the activities of any independent VoIP operators in the country until it can decide how best to regulate this nascent market. In the meantime, only Etisalat and du will be allowed to provide VoIP services. It should be noted that independent regulators were established in fellow Arabian Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, shortly before their telecommunications markets were liberalised. Given the small size of the UAE's telecommunications market and the lead currently enjoyed by Etisalat, it is doubtful that any new entrants could effectively compete with the incumbent on a commercial footing. Etisalat was the sole provider of fixed-line telephony, Internet access, and cellular telephony services in the country at the end of 2006, although some mobile customers were served by global mobile personal communications services (GMPCS) provider, Thuraya (it should be noted, though, that Etisalat has a 27% stake in Thuraya, meaning that it hardly represents 'true' competition). Furthermore, new entrant du appears to have a exclusive moopoly to serve the New Dubai area, where Etisalat seems to have been excluded. Etisalat is pressing for access to this potentially lucrative business zone. At the end of 2006, Etisalat was serving 1.285 million fixed-line telephone customers, 5.520 million cellular and 3G mobile customers, and more than 660,400 Internet customers. The mobile penetration rate was approximately 124% at the end of 2006, while the fixed-line penetration rate was around 28%. The UAE has a population of approximately 4.44 million, a portion of which are foreign nationals working in the country short-term. Having effectively sewn up the domestic market, Etisalat is poised to expand to the rest of the Arabian Gulf region as well as selected markets in Africa and Asia. Its first success was in securing Saudi Arabia's second mobile communications licence through a joint venture in which it initially owned a 55% stake; Etisalat's stake was diluted to around 35% when 20% of the venture's shares were publicly-listed, allowing Etisalat to recoup some of the costs incurred in bidding for the licence. Authorised to offer GSM and UMTS (3G) services, the venture began operating in early-2005. During 2005, Etisalat acquired 26% of Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd (PTCL) and 50% of West African mobile operator Atlantique Telecom. In the summer, it narrowly missed out on acquiring a stake in Turk Telekomunikasyon (Turk Telekom) of Turkey. However, in July 2006, Etisalat successfully bid for Egypt's third digital cellular telephony licence; it launched services in Egypt in the second quarter of 2007. Etisalat also acquired Afghanistan's fourth cellular licence in 2006; this service will be launched in 2007. This Market Intelligence Report was produced as part of
|
Order the 
Download the