The UAE is preparing the telecoms sector for competition with a second nationwide operator, which is launching mobile, fixed-line and data services this year. The regulator has decided to limit the ability of both operators in order to cut prices.
"We have issued a price regulations policy,” Mohamed Al-Ghanim, director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said. “No operator will be allowed to sell services at below cost to kill competition or to offer cross subsidies.”
Cross subsidization occurs when an operator offers cheap or free services to attract customers and then charges premium rates for other services, such as international calls.
Arab controlled telecom company Etisalat enjoys a monopoly throughout most of the country, blocking cheap VOIP phone calls and enforcing a federal ban on Internet pornography and gambling.
"The Internet will remain censored for cultural reasons,” Ghanim said. “We have to keep our culture protected. [Companies] will have to abide by the rules."
Dubai‘s free zones have attracted scores of media brands, including CNN and the BBC, on the promise of freedom from censorship, which is normal in Arab culture. Some observers fear online censorship within the zones could undermine their reputation as creative hubs.
Ghanim also said the UAE was under some pressure from the United States to open the telecoms sector before 2015, as part of a Free Trade Agreement that the two countries are negotiating.