<p><em>The facts surrounding the introduction of the branded partnership between  Virgin Mobile and Qtel in Qatar last year suggest that arguably, a mobile  telecommunications services provider may be introduced into the Qatar  market-place without a license from the Qatar telecommunications regulator  providing the partnership complies with the necessary laws and regulations.&nbsp;  However, while this question-mark in the industry remains, the Supreme Council  of Information and Communication Technology&rsquo;s final decision to terminate the  Qtel/Virgin Mobile partnership shows that it has a zero-tolerance approach when  it comes to non-compliance with the telecommunications legal  framework.<br /><br /></em><strong>Telecommunications Regulatory Framework in  Qatar<br /><br /></strong>The telecommunications industry is regulated by the  Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (&ldquo;ictQATAR&rdquo;), which  was established under the Decree Law No. 36 of 2004.<br /><br />The main legislation  governing telecommunications is the Decree Law No. 34 of 2006 on the  Promulgation of the Telecommunications Law (Telecommunications Law) . Licensing  of telecommunications service providers, interconnection and access, prohibition  of anti-competitive practices and abuse of dominance as well as consumer  protection are among the matters which fall within the ambit of the  Telecommunications Law. In particular, the Telecommunications Law lists a number  of activities and conduct that would constitute an abuse of dominance ,  including &ldquo;performing any actions that would have the effect of substantially  lessening competition in any telecommunications market&rdquo;.<br /><br />The executive  by-laws&nbsp; for the Telecommunications Law were issued in 2009. The by-laws  expanded on the matters within the scope of the main law, including consumer  protection. Amongst others, the by-laws contained a provision prohibiting  service providers from making any false or misleading claims in relation to the  price, quality or availability of their services or equipment or that of another  provider.&nbsp;<br /><br />The by-laws also set out the mechanism for resolving disputes  between service providers as well as between customers and service providers. In  2010, ictQATAR issued the Dispute Resolution Rules which detailed the procedure  for service providers to refer disputes to ictQATAR and the time frame for  deciding on such disputes.<br /><br />On 19 April 2011, ictQATAR issued a notice on  anti-competitive conduct (directed at providers of fixed networks,  infrastructure and related services), pursuant to its power under the  Telecommunications Law to monitor any abuse of market power or dominant position  and to determine appropriate procedures for this purpose. The notice details the  types of conduct and arrangements or agreements that would be considered  anti-competitive.&nbsp;<br /><br /><strong>ictQATAR Decision and Orders against Qatar  Telecom (Qtel) Q.S.C.<br /><br /></strong>Qtel is the leading licensed provider of  mobile telecommunications services in Qatar.&nbsp; On 13 May 2010, Qtel and Virgin  Mobile together launched a branded partnership for a pre-paid mobile service,  aiming to combine the coverage and call quality benefits of Qtel&rsquo;s mobile  network with the unique brand experience delivered by Virgin  Group.<br /><br />Within days of this launch, ictQATAR issued Qtel with instructions  to discontinue its potentially misleading marketing and branding activities, and  to implement corrective measures to ensure legal compliance.&nbsp;<br /><br />In addition  to this, Vodafone Qatar, which launched approximately 12 months prior as the  second licensed provider of mobile telecommunications services in Qatar, filed a  formal complaint against Qtel over the Qtel Virgin Mobile-branded service (&ldquo;Qtel  Virgin Mobile Service&rdquo;) a few weeks after the branded partnership was launched,  through the dispute resolution mechanism provided in the by-laws.&nbsp; Vodafone  claimed that the introduction of the Qtel Virgin Mobile Service, amongst other  things, amounted to the introduction of Virgin Mobile into Qatar as a third  (unlicensed) mobile telecommunications provider.&nbsp;<br /><br />The dispute was  referred to ictQATAR in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Rules, and in  July 2010, ictQATAR rejected Vodafone's allegation that Virgin Mobile amounted  to a third provider.&nbsp; ictQATAR did, however, rule that Qtel had breached the  Telecommunications Law through its branding partnership with Virgin Mobile, and  that Qtel&rsquo;s marketing and branding strategies for the Qtel Virgin Mobile Service  constituted misleading and deceptive conduct and anti-competitive behaviour in  breach of the Telecommunications Law and the executive by-laws issued in 2009 as  well as the terms and conditions of Qtel&rsquo;s license to provide mobile  telecommunications services.<br /><br />ictQATAR had provided Qtel with many  instructions designed to enforce compliance with the Telecommunications Law and  the executive by-laws issued in 2009, including specific requirements for the  display of the Qtel Virgin Mobile brand (to the extent that the logo had to be  displayed in the size ratio of 60% Qtel logo/40% Virgin logo), and instructions  to cease and desist all marketing and advertising that represented Virgin Mobile  as if it were a third mobile operator.&nbsp; These instructions, as well as the July  2010 decision, were re-affirmed in December 2010 when Qtel had requested  ictQATAR reconsider and modify its previous instructions and decisions.&nbsp; This  December 2010 decision also prohibited Qtel from offering any new promotions for  the Qtel Virgin Mobile Services until ictQATAR certified that Qtel had met all  its obligations as previously instructed.<br /><br />However, further non-compliance  by Qtel with these instructions resulted in ictQATAR finding on 11 April 2011  that:<br /><br />1.&nbsp;Qtel Virgin Mobile Services were marketed to the public by Qtel  in a manner which was misleading or deceptive;<br />2.&nbsp;Qtel had engaged in  anti-competitive conduct and an abuse of dominance; and<br />3.&nbsp;Qtel failed to  comply with Orders and Instructions previously issued to it by ictQATAR to  correct its conduct concerning Qtel&rsquo;s marketing of its Virgin Mobile  Services.<br /><br />This decision was final and binding, and gave finality to the  matter. ictQATAR required Qtel to immediately terminate its Qtel Virgin Mobile  Services, remove all marketing materials and products from the marketplace, and  cease all trading of Virgin Mobile Services by 4 August 2011. ictQATAR decisions  and orders on 11 April 2011 also simultaneously released Guidelines on  advertising, marketing and branding of telecommunications products and services  in Qatar, which apply to Qtel, Vodafone and all their distributors, dealers and  agents.<br /><br /><strong>Closing comments<br /><br /></strong>While ictQATAR&rsquo;s  instructions to Qtel to discontinue its Virgin Mobile Services would favour  Vodafone, it remains to be seen whether Vodafone can recover the potential  customers that have been &lsquo;lost&rsquo; to Qtel&rsquo;s Virgin Mobile Services, particularly  as Qtel planned to automatically migrate all existing Qtel Virgin Mobile  services customers to Qtel&rsquo;s existing Hala service.<br /><br />In any event,  ictQATAR&rsquo;s decision should be of some comfort to the telecommunications industry  and consumers in Qatar. Although the regulator stopped short of determining that  Virgin had been operating as a mobile virtual network operator through Qtel, the  decision by ictQATAR to take firm action against an operator for  anti-competitive conduct and non-compliance of ictQATAR&rsquo;s instructions is still  a positive sign. Given that Qtel had a monopoly over the telecommunications  market until Vodafone&rsquo;s entry in 2008, it is important to ensure that the new  entrant be allowed to compete fairly and consumers are offered a viable  alternative service provider.</p>
<ol>
<li>To the extent that a telecommunications service provider provides e-commerce  services, then Decree Law No. 16 of 2010 on the Promulgation of the Electronic  Commerce and Transactions Law (E-Commerce Law) would also be applicable. The  E-Commerce Law includes provisions on the legal treatment of and evidential  weight given to data messages and electronic signatures, as well as consumer  protection provisions.</li>
<li>Article 43 of the Telecommunications Law</li>
<li>Telecommunications By-Law No. 1 of 2009</li>
<li>&nbsp;Article 90 of the by-laws</li>
</ol>