TRA closes submissions for UAE mobile TV licence

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is no longer accepting applications from companies keen to acquire a broadcast mobile TV service licence in the country.

An initial public briefing was held in June last year to clarify the draft invitation document and requirements of the service, which led to nine organizations responding.

Changes were made to the document based on feedback before inviting companies to submit final proposals for the provision of mobile TV transmission service in the UAE.

The TRA officially stopped accepting submissions on December 31st, 2008.

“The applicants were not limited to companies having telecom licenses,” commented H.E. Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general, TRA, adding that they expect a decision to be made “before the end of next March” after evaluating the submitted proposals.

The new mobile TV service will be delivered through technology different from 3G streaming, which is already available, and is expected to offer a wider selection of channels at better quality.