UAE may admit new telecom firms in 2015

The UAE is considering plans to allow the operation of new telecommunications companies in the second largest Arab economy in 2015, a telecom official was reported on Thursday as saying. The plan is part of a strategy to upgrade services to the public and ensure fair competition in the market, said Majid Sultan Al Mismar, deputy director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He said TRA, which oversees the telecom sector in the UAE, is targeting what he described as a “secure electronic space” for all residents of the country. “We are studying plans to open up the country’s telecommunications sector,” he told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Albayan. “The plan involves allowing the operation of new service providers in the country by 2015, depending on market requirements and the needs of subscribers.” Etisalat and Du are the only service providers operating in the UAE, which has  one of the fastest growing telecom sectors. By the end of 2011, the UAE had more than 10 million mobile phone subscribers.