The United Arab Emirates' Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been operational since November 2004, and in its short lifespan it has impacted hugely upon the telecommunications framework in the UAE and across the region. Leading its work has been its director general Mohamed Al Ghanim.

During the last year, much of his organisation's time and effort has been spent ushering in the entry of the UAE's second telco, du, and overseeing its interaction with former monopoly provider, Etisalat.

 

"Matters such as site sharing, mobile number portability and network pre-select had to be established and since the commercial launch of the new entrant, the TRA has entered a new phase of activity," says Al Ghanim.

However, Al Ghanim says the regulatory body's work has only just begun, with the second phase of modernising the UAE market now to kick off.

He also alludes to the possibility of further market entrants in what is arguably the GCC's most advanced telecommunications market.

"Independent service providers are a prime example of the type of telecoms operation that the UAE does not currently have, and which over time is set to be introduced into the market," Al Ghanim explains.

"The whole area of satellite communications and the licensing of players in this area is being looked at and forms the main focus of phase two, which overlaps with phase one, of our strategy," he adds.

Al Ghanim also emphasises his organisation's position as UAE telco watchdog as one of the fundamental roles performed by the TRA. "Service providers cannot mislead customers through their advertisements," states Al Ghanim.

He goes on to explain how the body has implemented a series of network quality audits throughout 2007. Work has also been done on creating a complaints system and guidelines that offer consumers recourse for poor or faulty service rendered by the respective operators.

"We want the [telecommunications] companies to focus on consumers, [rather] than competing on the basis of who owns what in terms of infrastructure," he adds.

Al Ghanim elaborates further, pointing out that the TRA's modernisation programme will consist of two further stages, the first of which will involve the evolution of the body itself, wherein it will establish a best practices framework over the following five years.

"Within this phase we will focus on implementing a framework to prepare the market for the liberalised environment to come," he adds.

"The fourth and final phase is to look into how the TRA will deal with convergence issues," he explains.

"Right now, for instance, mobile TV is being introduced into the market, which is not streaming, but instead it's live mobile TV, a direct broadcast."

How to regulate this and other services are questions that will keep Al Ghanim and the regulator busy for some time to come.