Qatar, represented by the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), hosted the ‘22nd Meeting of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) Roaming Working Group’, which concludes Tuesday.
Representatives from Qatar, along with delegates from the Secretariat General of the GCC and the GCC Member States, participated in the meeting, which discussed matters related to international roaming services.
One of the key discussion topics was the findings of a benchmarking study on roaming services within the GCC states. The study carried out in collaboration with telecommunications regulatory bodies in the GCC, aims to assess the impact of roaming services prices limits that they previously implemented. It also aims to propose future price development in this area.
The meeting agenda included several important items, such as a presentation on the summary of the final report comparing international practices in roaming services agreements. Additionally, a summary of the initial report on the outcomes of a study was presented, focusing on the effects of the current regulation of roaming services prices among the GCC states. Furthermore, various related options for the future were discussed, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages.
The meeting held significant importance as GCC member states convened to exchange insights and experiences in the field of international roaming. They engaged in discussions concerning the study's outcomes, proposed options, and the subsequent steps to be taken. The ultimate objective is to ensure that telecom consumers in the GCC states have access to advanced and high-level telecom services while ensuring to balance between the obligations of Service Providers and the rights of consumers.