The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has launched a new competition framework which it hopes would lower prices of telecom services in the Arab state, TRA's director general said on Monday.

The new framework will have the TRA study various sectors of services offered by mobile operators du and Etisalat and would determine whether any licensee has market power in each of those sectors.

'For example, if we find there is fair competition in the Blackberry services sector we would then allow the operators to introduce packages straight to the market without being preapproved by the TRA,' Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim said.

'This new framework will help increase the level of competition in the market and in turn will drive prices down, all to benefit consumers,' he added.

The TRA plans to have the framework implemented by the end of the year and is assessing and studying the different market sectors, said Ghanim.

Ghanim downplayed the possibility of adding a third operator in the near future and said it was not part of the TRA's plan. 'This year we are giving a draft of the telecom policy to the cabinet and we'll be receiving direction from the cabinet whether to have additional operators,' he told Reuters in an interview.

Market penetration for mobile phones stands at a staggering 200 per cent, he added.

'This means every person in the UAE has two mobile phones, which is the highest rate in the world and we have to encourage existing operators to invest in improving their services so adding an so adding additional operators now may deter them.'

Last October, the TRA had planned to introduce number portability which would allow users to switch between operators without changing their mobile numbers.

'We ran into technical difficulties and that's why the service was late, but the plan is to get it out this year,' said Ghanim.

Broadband access regulations, which would allow customers to choice which operator they want regardless of which one runs in the area is the next issue the TRA plans to increase competition in, he said.

'Etisalat and du are already sharing fibre optics but the broadband access issue is under negotiations between the two companies and we are overseeing that there is more competition in that area.'-Reuters