Qatari telecoms regulator ictQatar has rejected a complaint by Vodafone’s local unit against incumbent QTel.
Vodafone had claimed that Qtel had been undercharging for retail international call services (IDD), which would be described as ‘predatory…
Qatari telecoms regulator ictQatar has rejected a complaint by Vodafone’s local unit against incumbent QTel.
Vodafone had claimed that Qtel had been undercharging for retail international call services (IDD), which would be described as ‘predatory pricing’ if it went on for an extended amount of time.
Had it been found that QTel had indeed engaged in this activity, it would have been abusing its dominant position and contravening Article 43 of the country’s telecoms law, and potentially threatening the viability of Vodafone’s local operations, ictQatar explained in its statement.
However, the authority, however, found that Qtel has not engaged in anti-competitive behaviour and as such has rejected Vodafone’s claim.
This is not the first time the two companies have sparred. Vodafone has also taken issue with QTel’s ‘brand franchise agreement’ JV with Virgin Mobile, which it described as effectively adding a third mobile operator to the market. In that case, ictQatar ruled that QTel had broken the terms of its licence, but had not broken the law.
In March, however, ictQatar asked QVMS, the service QTel runs with Virgin Mobile to stop registering new subscribers until it complies with the recommended presentation and marketing of its services.
Vodafone Qatar launched in June 2008, breaking the monopoly of QTel, and reported its first quarterly profit at the end of last year.
