A new competition framework for the telecom market will be launched by the TRA today. Beep Beep's David George-Cosh is there for the release, and you can expect stories later today. We should all have high hopes for what comes out of todays launch, and there are a couple of interesting things about this whole situation that are worth mentioning. First, the launch seems to have been organised at fairly short notice, with invites only being sent out yesterday and reminder text messages sent to media this morning. This could just be an organisational thing, or it could suggest that this was kept pretty quiet, deliberately, for as long as possible. Second, there are a huge bag of competition reforms that the TRA needs to manage this year. Mobile number portability, , is the most important move for the mobile sector. Competition in the broadband internet market, which , is also something that needs a regulatory push. Most importantly, we are getting close to the time when talk of a third mobile operator needs to begin. The TRA have always said du would be before thoughts about another new operator can begin. That three years is up, du is profitable, growing fast and has a 30% share of the market (and dominates the ). If all three of these things are announced today, I'll do a little dance on the streets of Abu Dhabi. If none of them take shape, I'll be extremely dissapointed. If the TRA does what has been long-rumoured and launches a revolutionary tablet computer that is bigger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop, I will bow before our new regulatory masters.