The U nited Arab Emirates could have a competitive fixed-line telecoms market within months, after local operator du said a deal had been agreed with larger rival Etisalat following negotiations that have dragged on since 2009.
Incumbent operator Etisalat had expected to launch a bitstream access product, which would let rivals gain access to its network with a view to launching fixed services of their own, by the end of 2014, but a deal was delayed again by technical issues.
"We are not there yet," du’s chairman, Ahmad Bin Byat, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai, Reuters reported. "It’s just a matter of a couple of months I guess at the maximum. The agreement is in place, the legality has been sorted out."
Du does offer some fixed-line broadband and pay TV services, but is restricted to newer areas of Dubai, Reuters said previously, and as a result has been unable to build a significant presence.
Etisalat, meanwhile, had 1.05 million fixed-line subscribers at the end of 2013, which gave it a market share of 86%.
Reuters noted that there has been little real competition in UAE telecoms to date, but that could change with the new network-sharing arrangement.
Byat also told the news agency that the UAE might also consider licensing ISPs and MVNOs, allowing further competition still.
We don’t want more fibre and networks because it is expensive and it is inefficient," Byat said. "What we want is to get more services to the public in more competitive and seamless ways."
