Thursday, April 03, 2008

Qatar - consultation

Qatar telecom watchdog to poll mkt on Qtel services

Qatar's telecoms regulator invited domestic firms and institutions on Wednesday to give their verdict on the services of Qatar Telecommunications Co QTEL.QA (Qtel).

"The Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology invited ... opinions and comment on the tariff of services provided by Qtel and the products it provides," the official Qatar News Agency said.

It said the move comes in line with the watchdog's "commitment to transparency", but did not give further explanation.

Qtel currently runs the only mobile and fixed-line networks in Qatar, which plans to sell another fixed-line licence in May.

Eight companies, including Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and U.S. firm Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), expressed an interest in the country's second fixed-line telephone licence.

Qatar in December sold its second mobile phone licence to a group including Vodafone, which will end the last mobile telephone monopoly in the Arab world.

Qatar holds the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas. Its population is expected to rise to 1.34 million by 2015 from 840,000 now, according to the telecom regulator.

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