Doha: The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) yesterday announced Decision No. (1) of 2021 and Decision No. (4) of 2021 of the Financial Sanctions Committee (FSC) at the CRA.
Under Decision No. (1) of 2021, the FSC imposed on “Ooredoo Qatar” a financial sanction for a total amount of QR2m. The sanction results from Ooredoo’s non-compliance with the rules applicable to access and interconnection between licensed service providers, and more specifically to Ooredoo Qatar’s refusal to grant access to its International Gateway Facilities at Al Khessa Cable Landing Station and Ooredoo Data Center 5.
Under Decision No. (4) of 2021, the FSC imposed on Ooredoo Qatar a financial sanction for a total amount of QR1.5m. The sanction relates to Ooredoo’s non-compliance with its obligations to file with the CRA and get the CRA prior approval for tariffs for fixed telecom services and therefore for violating CRA’s instructions pertaining to customer protection and violating the instructions to anti-competitive practices. Ooredoo’s lack of compliance prevents controlling the legality of Ooredoo’s offers on the fixed telecom market and prevents customers from being informed of offers existing in the market. Ultimately, Ooredoo’s behaviour misleads customers and prevents them from benefiting from the best prices.
The total amount of the financial sanctions resulting from the two decisions of the FSC is QR3.5m.
It is worth mentioning that the Financial Sanctions Committee was established based on the Council of Ministers Decision No. (14) of 2020, forming the Financial Sanctions Committee of the CRA. The Committee is competent to impose one or more of the financial sanctions that are set out in Schedule No. (1) enclosed in the Telecommunications Law, on the Licensees, in the event of violating the provisions of the Telecommunications Law, its Executive Regulation, or the decisions and licences issued in the implementation thereof. Such imposition shall be on behaviours other than those provided for in Chapter 16 of the Telecommunications Law.