Annual Report 2008 - TRA - Telecommunication Regulatory Authority

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Building a Competitive Market TRA Annual Report 2008 23 At the meeting Juconomy Consulting, appointed by TRA to review this issue, presented their findings. TRA then suggested that developers take a more active role and invest in infrastructure. TRA undertook to develop a policy that would support developers and operators in providing services to customers that meet international best practice. Resolution of this issue will contribute to TRA’s vision of the Kingdom becoming the region’s most modern communications hub. All public and private property In March, TRA published, for consultation, draft guidelines for the design, deployment, operation and protection of telecommunications network infrastructure on public and private property. The second National Telecommunications Plan supported measures to remove barriers to infrastructure deployment so that all operators with appropriate licences could install their own physical network. Telecommunications Technical Office During the year TRA set up a Telecommunications Technical Office (TTO) to work, on behalf of the telecommunications sector, with the Central Planning Unit of the Ministry of Works on infrastructure issues. The TTO has responsibility for a range of processes, from obtaining permits and providing information about an area to advising on the guidelines and dealing with emergency cases. Sharing masts and other wireless facilities Sharing telecommunications masts and associated wireless network facilities results in more efficient investment in wireless infrastructure, reduced operational costs which can then be passed on to customers, and a sounder environmental approach. TRA published a draft regulation in August to oblige any licensee that owns, leases or manages wireless telecommunications network facilities to negotiate and enter into a sharing agreement with any other licensed operator requesting this. Enforcement actions Advertising an unapproved service In early March, Batelco advertised a new ‘Broadband Plus’ service as “coming soon, subject to TRA approval” at a time when TRA was in the process of considering Batelco’s proposal and its compliance with the Telecommunications Law. This was misleading to potential customers and TRA asked Batelco to withdraw all adverts or it would consider taking legal action against Batelco. Under the terms of its licences Batelco is required to submit all tariffs for approval prior to launch. Batelco’s action was against the spirit of the procedure and, while TRA encourages innovative services, it must also protect the interests of consumers as well as the competitive environment. Both were concerns in this case. Batelco first submitted its proposal for this package to TRA in December 2007 but failed to provide sufficient information to answer questions over the potential anti-competitive nature of the proposal. The operator resubmitted its tariff at the very end of February. TRA then had 30 days to assess the tariff and it was during this period that Batelco began advertising. With the proposal to remove certain tariff approval requirements in future, this was a cause for concern. Dealing with wholesale customers TRA took action against Batelco at the end of March for not providing wholesale leased line services to 2Connect which holds licences for fixed, value added, internet and international services in the Kingdom. Batelco had breached the terms of its Reference Offer of services to other licensed operators. TRA issued an order and fined Batelco BD 100 thousand - a sum reduced from the BD 500 thousand originally proposed because Batelco undertook to fulfil its obligations in a relatively short time frame. Batelco paid the fine and supplied the leased lines to 2Connect as well as supplying leased lines requested by other licensed operators.
24 TRA Annual Report 2008 Building a Competitive Market Licensing New Value Added Services licence Under the Telecommunications Law Value Added Services (VAS) licensees could not obtain telephone numbers or codes directly from TRA. In March TRA began consulting on whether to issue a new licence to allow this before it addressed the issue through the unified licence expected towards the end of the year. The new licence would enable VAS licensees to obtain specific numbers linked to their value added services and so promote further competition in the market for these services. Having considered responses to the consultation, TRA decided in early July that it would not go ahead with this individual VAS licence. TRA considered that the move might add too much unnecessary complexity to the licensing regime for a short term gain because TRA intended to go ahead with the unified licensing regime in the near future. The disadvantages outweighed the benefits of the move. GSM 1800 guard band frequency licence In October TRA invited tenders for the auction of one frequency licence in the GSM 1800 guard band. These frequencies can be used for important niche services needing wireless connection, such as home delivery services, telemetry for fleets of vehicles, public utilities and wireless security. These types of applications can use innovative internet protocol (IP) based technologies. Neither of the two bids received in December complied with the tender requirements and TRA relaunched the auction in February 2009. New licences and revocations A total of 15 new licences were issued during 2008. The full list of licensees is given in Annex A. TRA also maintains a register of information as specified in section 52a of the Telecommunications Law. Following a due period of notice Swiftel International Company WLL’s International Services Licence (ISL) and Value Added Services licence (VAS) were revoked voluntarily with effect from 5 June. Licence fees TRA’s Board of Directors approved a revised schedule of fees for 2009 at the end of November. These are fees paid to TRA by licensed operators and users of spectrum. The new fees have been set to help smaller telecommunications operators during the prevailing difficult economic period. They also encourage larger operators to use telecommunications resources efficiently, in particular the significant bandwidth of spectrum and the blocks of telephone numbers that have been allocated to them. Mergers and acquisitions TRA reviewed and decided not to oppose two transactions under the mergers and acquisitions procedures: Bahrain Broadband Company WLL redistributed shares amongst existing shareholders and Kleos Offshore sal A change of ownership of Etisalcom Bahrain WLL.
Page 1 and 2: We regulate We help 2008 ANNUAL REP
Page 3 and 4: OUR VISION To develop the Kingdom o
Page 5 and 6: 2 TRA Annual Report 2008 Board of D
Page 7 and 8: 4 TRA Annual Report 2008 Chairman
Page 9 and 10: 6 TRA Annual Report 2008 General Di
Page 11 and 12: 8 TRA Annual Report 2008 General Di
Page 13 and 14: 10 TRA Annual Report 2008 Highlight
Page 15 and 16: 12 TRA Annual Report 2008 Working f
Page 17 and 18: 14 TRA Annual Report 2008 Working f
Page 19 and 20: 16 TRA Annual Report 2008 Building
Page 25: 22 TRA Annual Report 2008 Building
Page 31 and 32: 28 TRA Annual Report 2008 Forging L
Page 33 and 34: 30 TRA Annual Report 2008 Forging L
Page 35 and 36: 32 TRA Annual Report 2008 Inside TR
Page 37 and 38: 34 TRA Annual Report 2008 Statement
Page 39 and 40: 36 TRA Annual Report 2008 Statement
Page 41 and 42: 38 TRA Annual Report 2008 Annex A 3
Page 43 and 44: 40 TRA Annual Report 2008 Annex A (
Page 45 and 46: 42 TRA Annual Report 2008 Annex B,

Annual Report 2008 - TRA - Telecommunication Regulatory Authority

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?