Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.
| Identifier: | 04ABUDHABI1179 |
|---|---|
| Wikileaks: | View 04ABUDHABI1179 at Wikileaks.org |
| Origin: | Embassy Abu Dhabi |
| Created: | 2004-04-18 11:03:00 |
| Classification: | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY |
| Tags: | ECPS AORC TC |
| Redacted: | This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks. |
null
Diana T Fritz 03/15/2007 02:53:26 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results
Cable
Text:
UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS
TELEGRAM April 18, 2004
To: No Action Addressee
Action: Unknown
From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 1179 - ROUTINE)
TAGS: ECPS, AORC
Captions: None
Subject: UAEG TO COLLECT ROYALTIES FROM NEW TELECOM SERVICE
PROVIDERS
Ref: None
_________________________________________________________________
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 01179
SIPDIS
CXABU:
ACTION: ECON
INFO: AMB DCM P/M POL
Laser1:
INFO: FCS
DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG
APPROVED: A/DCM: HOLSIN-WINDEC
DRAFTED: ECON: CCRUMPLER
CLEARED: ECON: OJOHN
VZCZCADI983
RR RUEHC RUEHZM RUEHGV RUEHDI
DE RUEHAD #1179 1091103
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181103Z APR 04
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3993
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0547
RUEHDI/AMCONSUL DUBAI 3940
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001179 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EB/CIP AND IO/T DEPT PASS NTIA AND FCC E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A TAGS: ECPS, AORC, TC SUBJECT: UAEG TO COLLECT ROYALTIES FROM NEW TELECOM SERVICE PROVIDERS REF: ABU DHABI 1155 1. (U) Following the April 12 announcement that the UAEG would end Etisalat's monopoly of the telecom sector (ref), the UAEG revealed today that it would hold a 60 percent equity stake in any new telecom service provider that enters the UAE market. The announcement followed the first meeting April 17 of the new Supreme Committee overseeing the telecom liberalization program and presided by Minister of State for Finance Dr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Khirbash. The Committee also discussed setting up a separate and independent telecom regulatory authority akin to the FCC in the United States. 2. (SBU) The watershed decision to open the UAE telecom sector to other providers was announced this week coincidentally as MEPI-funded contractors conducted training for the GCC states plus Yemen on Trade in Services in Abu Dhabi. A Ministry of Communications employee seconded to Etisalat who attended the seminar told Econoff that even Ministry of Communications and Etisalat employees were surprised by the decision, and heard about it through the newspapers. He posited that the UAEG would license new GSM and internet service providers (ISP) first, but require them to use Etisalat's existing network infrastructure. 3. (SBU) Comment: The federal budget relies, in large part, on revenue transfers from the two largest emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Etisalat traditionally has represented the single major independent source of income for the UAE federal government. The Supreme Committee's decision to require new telecom providers to pay royalties to the federal government probably is an attempt to strike a balance between liberalization of the telecom sector and the need at the federal-level for an independent revenue stream. End comment. Wahba
Latest source of this page is cablebrowser-2, released 2011-10-04