Vodafone Qatar has taken legal action against the country's telecommunications regulators, claiming they allowed Virgin Mobile Qatar to start operating without a licence. Vodafone Qatar was established in 2007 after the country's second mobile licence was bought for 7.7 billion rials (Dh7.77bn). Vodafone, the world's largest telecoms operator by revenue, and the Qatar Foundation both hold a 23 per cent stake in the company, while 40 per cent is publicly traded and the other shares are owned by various Qatari government funds.
Virgin Mobile Qatar launched mobile services this month. It is owned entirely by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) under a so-called "brand licensing" agreement. Abdulrahman Al Thani, the chairman of Vodafone Qatar, said the launch of Virgin Mobile Qatar, the country's third service provider, violated licensing agreements. "We are taking legal action for the damages this has caused our shareholders ? 82,000 of which are individual Qataris that paid 40 per cent of the second mobile licence fee," Mr Al Thani said.
The operator claims that when it bought its licence, the conditions of the agreement with the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) stated "no further mobile service provider would enter into the market, and be licensed, until the proposed sector review". "Vodafone Qatar is happy to compete and is not threatened by Virgin Mobile's entry into the market, but we see this as a change to the rules of our licence," said Grahame Maher, the chief executive of Vodafone Qatar.
A spokesman for Qtel said: "Qtel's Virgin Mobile Qatar service is a brand franchise agreement between the Qtel Group and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and is fully compliant with the terms of Qtel's existing licence. The launch of the service addresses a key market segment in Qatar enhancing consumer choice in the market." William Fagan, the executive director for regulatory authority of ictQATAR, said the telecoms regulator had yet to receive any legal proceedings and declined to comment on the allegations.
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