Tra's position statement on tariff transparency guidelines

TRA's Position Statement on Tariff Transparency Guidelines
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Sr Topic Stakeholders Response TRA Position
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1. Introduction
As competition increases, more
operators focus on increasing their
competitiveness and beneficiary
acquisition. More tariff bundles and
packages will appear which will make
it difficult for the beneficiaries to
compare them to others or understand
them.
The TRA being the
telecommunications regulator
approves all regulated prices of
services available in market. Upon
approval, the TRA where necessary
imposes a number of conditions to
ensure that the tariffs and charges,
terms and conditions and any
necessary information is clearly
published to the beneficiaries to
ensure that they are protected and to
ensure that all the required information
is available for them to make a concise
and accurate choice of what service or
plan to subscribe for.
In order to do that, the TRA has
published this Code of Practice to
ensure that all Licensees comply with
the minimum standard of
transparency.
OmanTel
Omantel welcomed the initiative
and wished that the TRA would
introduce clear and specific
process and regulation for
determining and examining anti-
competitive allegation(s).
Omantel requested that There
should be no undue regulatory
burden on licensee as
provisioned in the license
conditions.
Omantel
It is expected that increased tariff transparency, would
contribute towards reducing the scope of anti-competitive
behaviour resulting from misinterpretation of the ways
tariffs and offers are published.
This Code of Practice does not impose additional
regulatory burden on the Licensees. It is a set of
guidelines to assist the telecom service subscribers
understand the tariffs and services offered to them by the
service providers. The Code does not raise any issues
which are new to the Licensees (e.g. Automatic renewal
issue, the terms and conditions, FUP etc). The TRA used
to previously target those concerns on a case by case
basis which consumed a lot of time which could affect
the performance of Licensees negatively or cause
permanent damage to a Licensee's stance, especially in
the case of the resellers. The impact of these conditions
was thoroughly discussed with the Licensees and their
views were taken into consideration even before this
public consultation was issued.
In addition to that, these conditions and set of regulations
were being included in the approvals to many of the
promotions and services, which does not make them
new to the Licensee's and they should have been
complying to them already. This Code compiles them
together, in a more comprehensive and documented
manner. Therefore, there should not be any additional
regulatory or compliance burdens and complexities from
issuing this document.

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Nawras
Nawras provided general
comments in section 3 which
were:
a. Nawras considers that it would
be good for the TRA to explain
the legal basis for the proposed
code and how it will link to the
current laws and regulations and
operator licenses;
b. The provision of sufficient and
accurate information by operators
needs to be complimented by a
raising of the general awareness
of consumers through industry
education campaigns initiated by
the TRA;
c. The principles of tariff
transparency need to be
implemented within an
environment that also encourages
operators to deliver innovative
Nawras
The legal basis of the Code is the TRA’s function in
safeguarding the interest of beneficiaries as indicated in
Article 6 of the Telecom Act. Furthermore, Article (9)
Para (1) of the Nawras License states "The Licensee
shall, in addition to complying with the Conditions
identified in this License, comply with the provisions of
the Telecommunications Regulatory Act and
Regulations, and all relevant decisions, orders and
guidelines of the Authority." This Code compliments all
the other Decisions and Regulations which the TRA has
issued and will issue in the future, as the TRA might
have generally touched upon the points raised in the
Code but this Code covers specific and detailed cases
which have been raised recently. If at any time, there is a
conflict in any of the points, the principle of legal
precedence will apply.
We agree with point (b), the Licensee's should be more
proactive and educate their subscribers on what plans
are available, and enable more informed decisions It has
been noticed that many Licensee's in the region and
around the world have a section on their websites where
they provide guidance on choosing the appropriate plans
according to their usage. This is expected to benefit
subscribers and Reduce confusion amongst the users.
The TRA supports the Licensee's on any awareness
campaigns which they wish to launch. This Code is an
endeavour towards raising the public awareness and

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products and services with
tailored and sophisticated tariff
options; and
The TRA should move to a
system of ex-post regulation on
tariff approvals and that the
implementation of codes of
practice like that proposed here,
are a natural complement for
such a move.
Friendi
Friendi believes that the
regulatory issues should be dealt
with at the highest level of
generality possible.
At the retail/consumer level, there
are few policy relevant features
that, taken separately are unique
to telecommunications. The TRA
should encourage other Omani
government departments to work
in a "joined-up" manner to
develop and adopt a holistic and
consistent "whole economy"
approach to retail transparency
and other consumer needs. Many
developed countries have moved
to enact generic consumer
protection laws that apply equally
to all industry and sectors.
improving transparency
The TRA is of the view that current market conditions still
require the current form of ex-ante regulation. The
Omani market is still a developing telecom market with
small and relatively much smaller relatively new entrants,
and a weak level of consumer awareness. The TRA is
monitoring the market and would review regulation when
the market conditions allow.
Friendi
Friendi’s point is well taken, and will be considered for
the future. However it is important to note that other
developed countries have already gone through stages
where consumer awareness has reached a high level
through Consumer Protection and consumer protection
groups and watchdogs groups. Such organizations are
not available yet in our market, therefore, it is important
to set guidelines to protect consumer interests.

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The TRA has not provided any
reasons explaining why it is
necessary to introduce a further
additional layer of retail regulation
through the proposed Code at this
point in time. Absent any clear
and detailed reasons explaining
the introduction of the queries, the
necessity for new additional
Code. Especially in
circumstances where there is no
intention to repeal, consolidate or
reform requirements already set
out in existing rules and
legislations.
2. Without a thorough review and
consolidation of existing
legislative and regulatory
requirements the Code will likely
further complicate the overall
retail tariff framework. It also
places an additional compliance
burden on the industry with all the
additional attendant costs
associated therewith, through for
example, increased mailings,
website changes and possible
changes to bill information or call
details format and documentation
requirements.
This is not an additional level of retail regulation. The
TRA has been addressing these issues on a case by
case through the tariff approvals, and the code comes as
an endeavour to consolidate the regulations into one
document for clarity, consistency and ease of reference.
As explained above, this is not an additional burden. It is
merely an improvement around an already existing tariff
transparency requirement. The benefits expected in
terms of increased consumer awareness and reduction
in anti competitive behaviour, do in TRA’s view justify the
requirement of the code.
See response above regarding issues already being
addressed in case by case basis.

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3. Prior to introducing the
proposed Code, Friendi believes
that the TRA should- as occurs in
other developed countries –
prepare a clear, accurate and
transparent regulatory impact
analysis. Such analysis usually
includes, among other matters, a
statement in quantifiable
monetary terms and of all the
incremental economic benefits
justifying the particular regulatory
initiative being implemented.
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General Friendi
A. Additional Regulation of
Wholesale Tariffs More
Beneficial to Consumers
1. Recognising the fast moving
and changing markets and
technologies in
telecommunications, one unique
prominent policy relevant feature
that FRIENDI believes does
justify an industry specific
approach is the any- to-any
approach connectivity principle.
2. The unique "any to any"
connectivity feature of
telecommunications underpins
the need for regulators to provide
appropriately transparent prices
and speedy change process
Friendi
The TRA welcomes any feedback and comments from
the Licensees as they enrich the review process and
provides the regulator with a different perspective,
however, these comments are outside the scope of this
particular public consultation, and Friendi may raise them
at a more appropriate forum.

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relating to standard wholesale
access and interconnection tariffs.
Such wholesale level regulation
should also provide for other
concomitant regulatory measures
such as number portability and
VOIP liberalisation that are
specific to telecommunications
and which the TRA sees as being
useful in promoting vigorous and
sustainable competition in
telecommunications markets.
3. Friendi considers the present
shortcomings and failures in the
wholesale access regulatory
regime and market in Oman
justified more scrutiny and
regulation by the TRA ahead of
additional retail tariff
transparency. Improvements in
wholesale tariff processes and
procedures would deliver
relatively greater consumer and
economic welfare benefits, and
more quickly, than the present
proposals relating to a new
telecoms-specific consumer
(retail) Code.
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General Friendi
B. Ex-post enforcement
presumed
Friendi assumes from its reading
of the Code that the requirements
Friendi
The code is an ex –ante requirement which the licensees
are required to implement before the launch of the
service and tariff launch. The TRA monitoring and
enforcement efforts, however, will be carried as an ex-
post measure. .Friendi is correct in understanding that

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of the Code, if implemented,
would be enforced in an ex-post
manner and that the TRA does
not intend to introduce any
interventionist ex-ante processes
or procedures such as requiring
prior review or approvals relating
to any marketing activities,
beyond those already existing.
New entrants and smaller players
need to have the ability to act and
react quickly in the market to
counter their larger incumbent
rivals. This ability is crucial to
gaining market share and
ensuring vigorous and
sustainable long term competition
in the Oman market. Additional or
more rigid approval processes will
impact proportionally more
detrimentally upon new entrants
and smaller players.
the TRA does not intend to introduce the review of
marketing material before hand as a standard measure,
as we understand that it impacts the speed by which
licensees can re-act to the market.
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General Friendi
Social Media Sites
Friendi is suggesting that the TRA
needs fully cognizant of the
impacts of the social media sites
such as Facebook etc upon errant
businesses. Such businesses are
subject to public scrutiny and
criticism for any misleading or
inaccurate marketing activity.
Friendi
The TRA is aware that the public is constantly gaining
more knowledge and access to more information via the
internet. However, in many cases, the internet and social
media has provided incorrect and inaccurate information
about certain services or issues regarding telecom and
the Licensees. Sometimes misleading and /or incorrect
information about services, tariffs or competitors are
published on these social mediums. Therefore, it is
incorrect to assume that such self regulation is sufficient
and it is unfair and inappropriate to let the subscribers
fully depend on what is unofficially available to them

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Friendi believes that the
customers are more alert,
informed and aware. Therefore,
the TRA can conclude that retail
marketing is largely sufficiently
self-regulated by market forces
and that no new rules are
needed. Friendi believes that the
regulators can, and should,
confidently forebear from many of
the existing forms of retail
regulation.
through the social media and unofficial sites such as
Facebook and other Forums.
There has to be an official source of information where
each person publishing can be held liable for what they
publish as it is their responsibility to give correct and
accurate information about the services and tariffs they
provide. The TRA believes that this source should be the
licensees’ official communication channels such as
website and communication material.
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1.1 Background
This paper establishes the principles
of tariff transparency for the
beneficiaries and the TRA's role in
facilitating this amongst the
Licensee's. In summary, the TRA is
required to ensure that transparent
and up to date information on
applicable prices and tariffs is
available to beneficiaries. This
essentially means that users should be
provided with tariff information that is:
 accurate
 up to date
 simple and easily understood
 easily accessible
 comparable
Friendi
Friendi proposed the following
amendments:
This essentially means that users
should be provided with tariff
information that is:
 accurate
 Complete
 Accessible
 up to date
comparable
Friendi believe that the 3 last
mentioned principle are adequate
and meet the needs of end users
at the moment. They better
encompass the 5 principles
earlier listed by the TRA.
The 5th
"Comparability" principle
Friendi
Accurate could also include up to date. Therefore, the
Licensee's should make an effort to ensure that the
information is not just accurate at the date of the initial
approval. Any additional changes and amendments are
accurately reflected, especially on the website and at the
call centres.
The TRA agrees with Friendi that "up to date" and
"comparable" could be deleted. However, "simple and
easily understood" and " easily accessible" will remain.
Therefore, the final document will be as follows:
This essentially means that users should be provided
with tariff information that is:
 accurate
 Complete
 Accessible

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is not practicable or desirable
according to Friendi.
Friendi believe that it might be
perceived as worthwhile in
comparing competing service
provider's tariffs. However,
standardisation for comparability
purposes may be misguided.
There is a risk of excessive
restrictions and requirements on
tariff innovation as each Licensee
tries to differentiate their offering.
Therefore, Friendi does not
consider a "comparability"
requirement as desirable.
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1.2 Objective of the Code
The tariff transparency requirements of
the Code of Practice have the
following broad objectives:
 Enable the beneficiaries to
understand the services they are
provided with.
 Assist the beneficiaries understand
the prices they will have to pay for
these services, including the
promotions and discount schemes.
 Inform the beneficiaries of any terms
and conditions which will apply to
services, promotions or discounts
which they subscribe to or use.
 Facilitate the comparison of prices
and services, and to enable the
beneficiary to reconcile billing of their
This is repetitive of the matters
set forth in Section 1.1
(Background) and could be
deleted or combined with this
Section. Otherwise, Friendi
repeats here its response in
Section 1.1 (Background) above.
Regarding the background and the objective statement.
The TRA gave the background to explain to the reader
the reasons why this document is being drafted and to
explain what triggered this task. However, the objective,
explains the target and what the Code or the document
itself is trying to achieve.

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usage against the published prices
and the services provided.
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Clause 1.3: Scope of the Code
The Code applies to all Licensees'
providing telecom services in the
Sultanate. The tariff details, terms and
conditions of all public telecom
services which are provided to
residential and business beneficiaries
should be clearly published in a
comprehensible standard format.
Omantel
Omantel suggested that the Code
applies to the "Retail" public
telecom services for residential
and business consumers.
They also believe that promotions
are special offers beyond retail
tariffs and they should not impose
additional regulatory burden in
this respect.
Any misrepresentation by
Resellers regarding service
features, Terms and Conditions or
lack of tariff transparency is not
the responsibility of Class I
Operator.
Transparent process should be
outlined for assessment of
Licensees' compliance and
violation to the Code, including
hearings and appeal in
accordance to Article (41).
Friendi
1.3 Scope of the Code
The Code applies to all
Licensees' providing telecom
services in the Sultanate. The
tariff details, terms and conditions
of all public telecom services
which are provided to residential
Omantel
We agree that the code applies to retail tariffs only
(residential and business).
Promotions specifically should be subject to this code
especially that the majority of complaints received by the
TRA and raised to the Licensees concern promotional
offers in the market, where the public find them
misleading or the information provided is not sufficient.
Therefore, TRA would like to emphasise that this Code
does apply to the tariffs of promotional offers whether
they are for residential or corporate.
Any misrepresentation by the Resellers shall be solely
their responsibility.
Clause 6 of the Code also states that the TRA will be
assessing compliance to the Code and any breach will
be investigated providing remedial measures.
The TRA has no objection to the re-drafting of the final
sentence. It will also be further revised and the points
raised by Friendi will be taken into consideration during
the final review process.

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and business beneficiaries should
be clearly published in a
comprehensible and standard
consistent format style.
Based on experience, we believe
standard formats would prove to
be problematic to implement , are
unduly restrictive and may
actually stifle innovation and
competition and can create
complexity and confusion for
consumers even within a single
operators own tariff offerings and
plans.
Friendi suggested each operator
has a consisted format to make
their tariffs identifiable.
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1.4 Other Regulatory Instruments
This Code is without Prejudice to other
Regulatory instruments and decision
issued by the TRA from time to time.
Including decision No. 113/2008 on
Procedures and Rules Regulating the
Promotional Offers of
Telecommunications Services.
Friendi
A. Friendi repeats that TRA has
not provided any reasons
explaining why it is necessary to
introduce an additional layer of
retail regulation.
B. Without comprehensive review
and consolidation of all existing
legislative and regulatory
requirements the Code will likely
lead to inconsistencies.
The Code adds an additional
compliance burden on the
industry.
Friendi
As already mentioned earlier we do not believe that this
Code carries any additional regulatory burdens as the
majority of these conditions have already been set or
discussed with the Licensees when the issue was raised.
In addition to that, many of these points were included in
approval letters and the Licensees should have already
been complying with them in the related service. The
Code just compiles the most important of these
conditions in one official document instead of giving the
Licensee a conditional approval each time.

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2. Accurate and Comprehensible
Tariff Information
Licensee are required to make
available a specific set of information
regarding the services being offered,
including, the scope of the service
being offered, standard tariffs covering
access, usage and maintenance,
types of maintenance service offered,
standard customer agreement and
dispute settlement mechanisms.
Friendi
Licensee are required to make
available a specific set of
information regarding the services
being offered, including where
appropriate, the scope of the
service being offered, standard
tariffs covering access, usage and
maintenance, types of
maintenance service offered,
standard customer agreement
and dispute settlement
mechanisms.
Mr Narasimha U. Mallya via
email:
1.) Area wise Service availability
The licensees have to clearly
indicate an area wise availability
of services offered. The websites
/ brochures clearly indicate the
various plans / packages that a
beneficiary can choose from;
however there is no detail area
wise on the availability of such
services. Some of the
plans/package or some options of
a plan/package may not be
available in certain areas of the
city due to pending upgradation
works on the network / cabling/
exchanges, this has to be clearly
depicted area wise, so that the
The TRA has no objection to the amendment suggested
by Friendi.
The TRA understands that the Licensee is restricted to
many commercial factors in terms of publishing and
advertising; however they should provide all the
necessary details on their website and through the call
centres.
Mr Narasimha U. Mallya via email:
With regards to Mr Mallaya's concern; the TRA noted Mr
Mallaya's concerns, since, these comments are outside
the scope of this Code, these will be addressed at the
appropriate forum.

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beneficiary can chose a plan from
what is available in his area.
There by the beneficiary will not
land up paying more than what he
can practically avail.
In some instances subscribers
may opt for a service and the
Licensee may provide a service
which is not as desired by the
beneficiary. Many a times the
beneficiary is in the dark and
keeps paying the full amount for
the subscribed service wherein
they are getting lesser or
degraded service.
For example:
Omantel has ADSL packages of
8Mbps and 16Mbps, this quality
of service cannot be provided
everywhere in Muscat (let alone
some remote areas). In some
areas they can only provide 2
Mbps or 4Mbps depending on the
network/upgrades to the
exchanges that needs to be done.
Many customers who have a
need for 8 Mbps or 16Mbps will
apply for the same without
knowing that they cannot actually
avail that quality of service.
Omantel even enables the service
at 8Mbps and charges the
customer for 8Mbps, but for the
customer the service only works

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at 4MBps as in the area that is
the maximum that is available or
will work. In this scenario the
beneficiary is losing a lot of
money over the years and the ISP
is making huge profits at the
expense of local companies/
consumers.
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2.1 Duty to Disclose Price Limitations,
Terms and Conditions
Duty to Disclose Price Limitations,
Terms and Conditions
Prior to providing any Service to a
Beneficiary, a Licensee must disclose
to that Beneficiary the prices, terms
and conditions on which the Licensee
provides such Service, including a
Service provided on a free trial basis.
The information must at the minimum
include a service description, prices
(including any discount structures),
service suspension and termination
provisions (including any early
termination charges), and service
availability and eligibility requirements.
Any additional or subscription charges
in addition to monthly rental or other
subscription fees should be clearly
indicated and published along with the
tariff details.
Omantel
Omantel are seeking TRA's
clarification on whether Clause
2.1 refers to the minimum set of
information to be published,
including service availability.
Nawras
Nawras agrees with TRA that it is
important that customers have
easy access to terms and
conditions of their service and
that all keys terms relating to their
service are disclosed to them.
Nawras believes that the current
practice of making available at the
point of purchase, through the
internet and through customer
service is sufficient in this regard.
Friendi
Omantel
Clause 2.1 refers to the minimum set of information to be
published. By service availability, the TRA means to give
a brief explanation informing the subscribers who the
service is provided for and if there are any limitations to
the availability of the service such as but not limited to
geographical, technological, technical, prepaid/ post
paid, handset related etc Such conditions should be
clear to the subscriber so they do not end up subscribing
to a service they cannot use.
Nawras
The TRA set those specific mediums/methods to transfer
the information to their subscribers as a minimum
requirement which all Licensees have to comply with. If
Nawras is complying with the minimum requirement and
they feel it is suitable enough for their subscribers and
that all the updated information is available to them and
they see that meeting the minimum requirement is
sufficient for their subscribers, then they are considered
to be complying with the Code.

15
Friendi requested additional
guidance on presentation of this
point.
TRA should avoid seeking to
interfere with business decisions
relating to creativity of advertising
content which is driven by a
multiplicity of commercial factors,
such as space limitation in
advertisements, costs, and layout
and media specific factors.
Friendi
The TRA would encourage the Licensees to be
innovative and as transparent as possible with their
tariffs and other tariff related information, however the
TRA can only ensure that the Licensees provide their
subscribers receive a reasonable, accurate and sufficient
set of information to assist them make a reasonable and
sound decision for their choice of telecom services.
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2.1.2 Fair Usage Policy (FUP)
Any limitations such as Fair Usage
Policy (FUP) on usage should be
clearly indicated and published. The
Licensee should not describe a plan
as being unlimited if there is a limit to
the number of calls, minutes, data
volume etc being used.
Friendi
Friendi is not completely clear on
precisely what this requirement is.
"Fair Usage Policy" is a
capitalized phrase but no
definitions are provided. The draft
Article provides a single example
only of what not to do. Some
additional guidance on this
requirement would be helpful.
Friendi
Fair Usage Policy (FUP) is usually defined by the
Licensees in their proposals for specific service which
require them, such as plans which give a large number
or are described as 'unlimited'. Such plans are subject to
abuses by certain high volume users usually have a
FUP. It is up to the Licensee to determine what their FUP
or abuse limit is according to the efficiency and pressure
on their network.
The requirement of this Code is to clearly indicate such
limitations.
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2.1.3 Validity Period
The validity period for credit or usage
should be clearly indicated in any
publication related to the service tariff.
If a beneficiary is opting into a service
or using the handset system to opt into
a plan, the beneficiary should be given
the details of the validity period of the
plan or credit and the beneficiary
Omantel
Omantel believe that it is not
applicable to corporate customers
as the approval process is
different from individual
customers. Opting in requires
signing an agreement with
corporate customers and all major
Omantel
Clause 2.1.3 applies to those services, which require
opting in and out such as Value added services or some
prepaid services etc. There are some services which are
available to Oman Mobile subscribers which have validity
period or can be opted into by subscribing through SMS
such as the Prepaid Blackberry services currently being
offered. Even though services will be automatically
renewed, the customers have to be informed about their

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should give their direct and voluntary
approval by responding through the
handset system or SMS by giving a
clear indication (i.e. responding with a
YES or NO) to the terms and
conditions of that plan.
corporate services are
automatically renewed as per
terms and conditions.
Nawras
In relation to opting in to a
service, Nawras considers it is
onerous to require customers to
specifically accept the "validity
period" in isolation to all terms
and conditions. Nawras considers
that a general acceptance is
sufficient provided that the
customer has easy access to
relevant terms and conditions
including validity period.
plan details and that it is about to expire. Therefore, the
TRA cannot restrict this Clause to a specific category of
services such as retail or corporate, it will apply to all
relevant services except where there is a special
agreement or arrangement with a customer.
Nawras
After discussing the issue of automatic approvals with
the Licensee's, it has come to our attention that both the
subscribers and Licensee face inconveniences with
regards to renewing their subscriptions, especially if the
subscriber has several subscriptions on their account.
On the other hand, an SMS must be sent to the
subscriber informing them that their subscription will be
automatically renewed and indicating the charges as well
as the validity of the subscription or credit in the plan.
The customer than can make a decision whether they
would like the subscription automatically approved or
stopped. If the subscription is through USSD such as
some of the subscriptions for the mobile broadband
plans then the subscribers should indicate their direct
approval through YES or NO.
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2.1.4 Automatic Renewal
Licensees should not force automatic
renewal of subscription based services
upon the expiry of the service. The
service provider shall instead send an
SMS to the subscriber intimating him
that his subscription is approaching
expiry. Moreover, the subscriber has
to be clearly informed at the end of the
subscription period that his service
Omantel
To avoid any doubt, Omantel is
suggesting specifying that the
commitment excludes MSISDN
(Mobile Subscriber ISDN
Number) validities that are
determining by the TRA from time
to time.
Omantel
Omantel's comment will be taken into consideration and
the final document will be amended accordingly.
The following sentence will be added "To avoid any
doubt MDISDN validities are excluded from this
commitment, and they will be as determined by the TRA
from time to time."

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subscription will be renewed upon
expiry if they do not opt out.
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2.1.5 Monitoring the usage
The licensees shall provide their
subscribers with an easy and practical
mechanism through which they can
monitor their own usage. In order to
enable them to control the consumed
minutes, SMSs, Kbs…etc.
Omantel
Omantel suggested that the
monitoring mechanism should be
relevant to the service monitored
as in fixed services; SMS would
not be relevant as a method of
monitoring.
Nawras
Itemised billing can be submitted
upon request. Nawras is
suggesting that instead of
prescribing specific information
which might not be relevant to
every service, the TRA could take
a broader view and simply ensure
that service providers present all
relevant or material information
regarding the tariffs and for the
information to be clear and readily
accessible.
Omantel
The Licensee has the freedom to choose the most
appropriate and efficient mechanism such as call
centres, online services etc for their fixed services.
Nawras
Itemised billing does not provide real time data usage
and is not very helpful to prepaid consumers. Currently
the Licensees provide data usage mechanism such as
USSD where the subscriber can get data on their usage
or how many MB's or minutes are left through a USSD
code. Licensee's can also provide this service through
their website. It is not just an issue of providing the
information, it is about making use of it in a way which
assists the users to make time sensitive decisions on
their usage and control their bills and consumption. In
many plans, customers get charged out of bundle
charges without prior notification, it is important that they
are aware of how much is left of their free minutes,
bundles etc is left and to make decision on how to
rationalise their billing.
15
2.3.1 Minimum set of information
All printed, website or verbal tariff
presentations shall state relevant
details and additional
charges/surcharges applicable to the
tariff. For printed presentations, the
Omantel
Provision of additional information
in a comparable font size is not
practical. The TRA should
consider normal advertisement
Omantel
TRA expects all the important tariff related information
and terms and conditions to be published in a clear font
and size. Fine print for hidden charges and tariff
conditions or limitations is not acceptable. Such

18
additional information should be
located beside the tariff information in
a comparable font size.
standards for managing
information and leave details
about the font to the operators.
information should be clear and in a comparable size to
give the subscribers clear indication that this information
is related to the tariff. This is in accordance with the
international best practices.
16
2.3.2 Tariff options with inclusive time
or credit
Where a Licensee offers tariff plans/
bundles with inclusive time or credit,
then all publications (such as; printed,
website and verbal tariff presentations)
shall clearly set out the conditions
under which added time or credit can
be used.
Omantel
Omantel indicated that it may not
be practical to set out all the
conditions in all the publications.
However, alternate references
can be included where the
beneficiaries can find all the
details as suggested in clause
(2.1.1) of this consultation.
Nawras
Nawras says that it may not be
feasible to mention all the
information listed on the Code to
all "publications" and certainly not
on outdoor or newspaper
advertisements. It is our view that
provided such detailed
information is made available to
consumers prior to the time of
purchase, consumer protection
has occurred.
Nawras agrees with the TRA that
comprehensive information
should be available through
multiple channels including
stores, websites and/ or call
This clause clarifies that all information with relation to
the time limits or data volumes included in the plan
should be clearly publicised and it should be clear when
the customer starts getting charged etc
The Clause itself clearly gives examples of what
information could be part of the limitations related to
include minutes/ data volumes etc However the list we
gave is not limited to the points we mentioned.

19
centres, as is the current Nawras
practice.
Friendi
Friendi is not clear on what the
TRA requires here. Some
additional guidance would be
helpful.
17
2.4 Up to date Tariff Information
Licensee must disclose, by publishing
on its website, the effective tariff for
any Service no later than the date on
which the Licensee begins to provide
such Service. This information has to
be regularly updated and should
represent the latest changes or
amendments made to any information
which has become obsolete. The
beneficiaries should also be notified at
least two weeks before any change in
prices.
Omantel
Omantel believes that updating
information and giving a
notification of any price change to
prices at least two weeks prior to
any change in tariffs might not be
practical or achievable, especially
and not limited to, services
related to roaming charges and
other costs related to International
carriers as it implies leaking price
changes to the competitor and
may complicate the process of
communication.
Friendi
Friendi suggested that this should
only apply in the case of a price
increase and suggested the
following amendment:
2.4 Up to date Tariff Information
Licensee must disclose, by
Omantel
Advanced notifications and updates mainly concerns the
tariff plans which relate to the new plans which the
Licensee is ready to promote for in advanced or a date
prior to the launch date such as a new Broadband plan
or revision to a specific tariff plan which will occur from a
specific planned date etc
In the cases where promotional activity or non expected
tariff changes occur, then the Licensee has every right to
keep its information confidential or un-notified until the
time the Licensee starts advertising for the promotion. All
relevant information should be available in the
publication, website or SMS etc
The TRA has considered Friendi’s proposal , however, is
still of the view that all changes should be notified , as
users might not be aware of better or lower options when

20
publishing on its website, the
effective tariff for any Service no
later than the date on which the
Licensee begins to provide such
Service. This information has to
be regularly updated and should
represent the latest changes or
amendments made to any
information which has become
obsolete. The beneficiaries
should also be notified at least
two weeks before any change
increase in prices.
they occur
Customers also need to know as of what date the new
tariff (even if it is lower) is implemented, to enable them
to better monitor their usage and billing.
Therefore, the TRA does not approve of the suggested
amendment.
.
18
2.5 Accessibility of Tariff Information
Licensees should provide printed tariff
information in response to a
beneficiary's request. If tariff
information is provided through a
website the service provider should
provide a direct link from the
homepage into the tariff information
section of the site. In addition tariff
information should be communicated
clearly to the beneficiary in advance of
any decision to purchase and tariff
information should not be withheld in
order to draw the end-user into a
pressurised purchase decision.
The Licensee should also take into
consideration the accessibility of the
information to their beneficiaries with
special needs.
Omantel
Regarding the accessibility of
tariff information, considering the
use of internet to reduce the
requirement for having it printed.
Alternatively, flexibility should be
there to allow the operator to
select other methods to reduce
the costs associated to printing.
Also, in the same clause a
description of "pressurised
purchase" which is not clear. We
seek the TRA clarification on that.
Omantel
With regards to the accessibility, the service provider
should fully utilise their website which is accessible to
everyone and anyone who has internet access. In the
cases where users do not have internet access, they can
always get the information from the call centres,
Licensee's local branch/store or print. The Licensee will
have the freedom and option to use any other it sees fit
and affordable, however updating the website and their
call centre staff is always easy, instantaneous and fast
for them to take care of instead of printing and
advertising.
The tariff information should be easily available and
accessible to the subscribers at any time and place they
require this information. This could be done by publishing
all the tariff information online and have them available
with the call centre, so if the subscriber enquires about
the information it is readily available.

21
The information should be available in both Arabic and
English. If possible, the Licensee should also
consider providing the information with taking into
consideration their beneficiaries with special needs
i.e. in terms of the website services or even call
centers or at the Licensees store.
Pressurised purchase is when the customer is misled or
misguided by the Licensee by not being provided full or
clear information leading them to take a decision by
thinking that they are being given an offer they cannot
resist, when the actual offer might include hidden
charges or other aspects which the subscriber has not
taken into consideration.
The TRA will redraft the clause to make it clearer by
replacing the word "pressurised purchase decision" with
"misguided purchase decision".
19
3. Promotions and Offers
All Terms and Conditions relating to
promotions should be clearly
advertised and published. The start
and end dates of the promotion should
also be clearly published in the
Licensees advertisements, SMS and
website. In addition to that, any validity
dates for the subscription, credit or
free service should be published. The
beneficiary should also be informed
prior the end of the validity period or
before the promotion ends.
Omantel
Promotions are part of important
marketing strategy which should
be left to open market competition
and not subjected to undue
regulatory burden. Moreover,
promotions are anyway approved
by TRA on case to case basis.
Normally, the start date of
promotional offers is not
advertised after the launch as the
launch date is the start date.
Subsequent promotion
advertisements need end date
Omantel
The start and end date of the promotion or the validity of
the promotion period is important to subscribers, as
some promotions offer services for a limited time or the
credit or discounted charges are only limited to a specific
period or have an expiration/ validity date. It is important
that subscribers are aware of how long the credit will be
valid for and to evaluate if the subscription period is
worthwhile to them in terms of the cost or discount.
If a service provider mentions the end date of a
promotional offer, it would suffice for this requirement.
The Clause shall be amended as follows:

22
only. Also, it is not practical to
inform the customers prior to
expiry of the free or special offers
in most of the promotional offers,
not to mention the costs
associated to such exercise
specifically for fixed services.
Friendi
Friendi is not clear on what the
TRA requires here. Some
additional guidance would be
helpful.
All Terms and Conditions relating to promotions should
be clearly advertised and published. The start date and
duration of the promotion should also be clearly
published in the Licensees advertisements, SMS and
website. In addition to that, any validity dates for the
subscription, credit or free service should be published.
The beneficiary should also be informed prior the end of
the validity period or before the promotion ends.
20
3.1 Quizzes, Competitions and Prizes
Any service or promotional activity
involving a quiz, competition and free
prizes should have very clear and
accurate terms and conditions. The
prize should be clearly publicised and
described. The Licensee should not
give the public any false expectations
about the probability of winning the
competition or prize. The price of the
service should also be clearly
publicised whether it is a standard or
premium service.
Omantel
Service offers including a chance
of winning a prize on special
draws are incentives for the
customers who also have a
probability of winning since a
prize is not guaranteed, the
operator is not giving false hope
to the public and this not
responsible.
Friend
Friendi does not understand if
and how this differs from the
existing requirements relating to
promotions.
Omantel
We agree with Omantel that the promotion might not
necessarily give the customer false hope, but they might
make it seem like the customer could get something with
minimum effort. This clause refers to the terms and
words which give the customer false indication or signal
that they are guaranteed a 100% probability to win or
that everyone is a winner.
Friendi
This does not differ at all from what the TRA requires the
Licensees to comply with. As we have mentioned earlier,
these requirements and the Code are a compilation of
the most important and frequently used requirements
which the TRA sets for the Licensees. Instead of having
to repeat them in every approval, this Code will serve as
a consolidated and general reference for tariff
transparency requirements

23
email:
2.) Quizzes and Competitions
The licensees have to provide an
option to the subscriber to enable
or disable the ability of a
mobile/landline number to
participate in Quizzes and
Competitions.
This has to be done with the view
that there is a huge population of
kids in the country who do not
realize the amount that these
SMSs would cost (i.e. each SMS
costing around 500 Bz or so) they
hear to local radio or watch the
Television channels and send
SMSs from their parents phone.
Only when the Bill would arrive
the parent would realize such a
cost that has been incurred. So if
such an option to enable or
disable this service is provided to
the subscriber, then the
subscriber at his discretion can
opt for the service.
Example: One of my Omani
Colleague was surprised to find a
charge or RO 25.5/- towards
SMS2TV where in 51 calls/sms
were sent in a months time. After
probing further he only realized
that his kids aged 5-10 had sent
all the SMS without knowing the
cost implications of the same.
In response to Mr Mallya's comment; It is a requirement
prior to this Code that any additional or value added
service (VAS) or quiz etc should have an opt-in and opt-
out option. In addition to that, the price of the SMS for
VAS or Premium services should be clearly advertised
and clearly informed to the customer in advance.
The other points have also been taken into
consideration and will be raised in more relevant
forums.

24
21
4. Service Termination or Suspension
Licensees may enter into contract
agreements under which they provide
the Beneficiary with a discount or
special consideration in return for the
Beneficiary‘s agreement to commit to
a minimum service period or a
minimum revenue commitment. Such
agreements may contain provisions
providing for termination liability in the
event that the Beneficiary ends the
agreement prior to the agreed upon
termination date. However, the amount
of any early termination liability must
be reasonably proportionate to the
extent of the discount or special
consideration that the Licensee has
provided and the duration of the period
during which the Beneficiary took the
Service. If there has been an
advanced payment for the service, the
Licensee has to make arrangements
to compensate the Beneficiary for the
outstanding payment for that
terminated/suspended contractual
period.
Omantel
Omantel stated that Clause (4)
should be without prejudice to the
TRA Public Consultation on
Framework for Special Tariff
offers for the Corporate
Customers issued by the TRA on
26th
April 2010. In the same
Clauses and regardless of the
category of the beneficiaries
would be bearing, the extent is
not clear. A consideration should
be made to the costs/business
case based on which the TRA
has originally approved the
specific offering. The licensee
should be compensated
according to such costing model.
Nawras
Nawras agrees with the general
idea that the legal obligations of
both parties need to be
respected. Nawras raised their
position in relation to corporate
customers, which they require
less regulatory intervention/
protection and such intervention/
protection, has the tendency to
stifle corporate activity rather than
assist it. This principle of treating
Omantel
The TRA understands and has no objection to the
concept of the Retail and Corporate customers being
treated differently. The retail customers have the
Standard Customer Agreement and the corporate have a
special agreement or a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
The terms and conditions of these agreements have to
be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, including the
early termination clauses. Nonetheless, we do not see
that this clause as inconsistent with this understanding

25
consumer and business
differently from a regulatory
perspective is widely adopted in
the region as well as
internationally.
email:
3.) Handling of Network errors
A clear description on the
handling of network errors have to
be laid down, there by the
licensees have to clearly
announce from time to time the
problem on the network and also
the benefits that will be given to
beneficiaries that have suffered
due to such network errors. A
clear description on
Compensation has to be laid
down to all parties who suffered
on account of network errors.
There have been instances in the
past where there would be
network errors for some time and
the subscriber is charged for a
call wherein the subscriber is not
able to establish and utilize the
call.
Example 1: A few months back
(June/July 2011) there was a
problem with the Oman Mobile
network where in there was a
problem with International dialing.
Mr Narasimha U. Mallya via email:
Mr Mallya's points have been taken into consideration
and will be raised in more appropriate forums due to
them being outside the scope of this consultation.

26
When international calls would be
made from Oman, the dialer
would hear an echo of his voice
only, there would be no ring tone
nor the voice from the receiver of
the call. However the call would
get established and the
subscriber would be charged for
such a call. after around 2- 3
failed attempts the call would be
established, however the
subscriber would be charged for
all the three calls.
Example 2: Also in June 2011,
Omantel suffered a Fibre Cable
cut and the land lines in certain
areas where dead for a few days.
Businesses and establishments
suffered as a consequence of the
same, however no benefit was
provided to
companies/establishments who
suffered as a result of this
disruption.
22
5.1 Mobile Number Portability
The introduction of Mobile Number
Portability (MNP) means that the
network prefix which a beneficiary
dials when making a mobile call is no
longer a means to identify the network.
This has created an issue of tariff
transparency for beneficiaries who are
no longer aware when they are making
an on-net or off-net call, where off-net
Omantel
Omantel believes that MNP is a
totally different subject and is out
of context for this consultation.
Omantel are suggesting taking
out this clause from the
consultation for Tariff
Transparency.
The TRA is of the view that it is important to discuss the
MNP in terms of the tariff transparency as users are not
clear on what network or charges are applicable to their
calls.
Since MNP has started and the initiation of effective
competition in the mobile market, the mobile tariffs and
plans have become more attractive and targeted towards
retaining their current customer base and not just
attracting new customers. Mobile Licensee's have

27
mobile-to-mobile calls are charged at
significantly higher rates by mobile
operators. Alternatively, the operators
can propose any other solution which
they find practical and more
appropriate.
Since currently there is no uniform
mechanism or solution implemented
by all Licensees to tackle this issue.
The TRA is putting for consultation the
following solutions for all stakeholders'
feedback of the most optimum
solutions and any concerns with
regards to this matter.
The TRA would like to suggest a
number of solutions which could be
used as a permanent technical
solution; the Licensees may suggest
any other solution which they find
appropriate:
a) Clear opt-in dial tone which is
applicable to all off-net calls and
uniform across all networks.
b) SMS message or a voice alert could
be made to inform the customer that
they are making an off-net call.
c) End user can send an SMS or call
or through a website where the
number is added as an input and
customer receives an SMS informing
them what network the number is on.
Nawras
Nawras agrees with the TRA's
sentiments in terms of raising
awareness to beneficiaries when
making off-net calls. The first
proposal made by the TRA is the
easiest and the best and is
consistent with current practice.
The second and third options are
cumbersome and expensive and
likely to result in increased costs
for the industry. Further, it is out
experience that this issue is not
significant. If the TRA holds a
contrary view we would welcome
receiving from the TRA it's
experienced as well as some
evidence of the extent of the
perceived problem.
Friendi
Friendi suggests the issue of the
beneficiary not being able to
identify the network of the B-party
can be solved through
development of a small data base
application on the TRA-website
showing the network host for any
beneficiary inquiry on a specific
mobile number.
offered 'unlimited' or free calls to their on-net calls or
certain plans even extend their 'free' calls to the fixed
network of their subsidiary company (e.g. Oman Mobile
and Omantel or Nawras Mobile to Nawras Fixed). It is
the subscriber's right to know what network his call is
being forwarded to in order for them to determine if they
want to go ahead with the call and to maintain their
expenditure at reasonable limits. This will also reduce
the number of billing complaints or unexpected peaks in
bills and charges in the subscriber's bills.
Based on the input provided by the licensees and due
deliberations by the TRA, the TRA see's that the best
solution is the clear distinctive feature to all off-net calls.
This distinctive feature should be clearly published
for the information of the users.

28
Friendi strongly submits that MNP
should not be delayed any longer
by the mere reason of the
absence of a more convenient
mechanism facilitating network
identity. Friendi observes that on-
net pricing is used in almost all
markets worldwide without having
public information available on
mobile number network identity.
Friendi doesn’t promote any
special on-net plan as the
wholesale rates do not allow them
to do so. Accordingly, Friendi
suggests that it is important that
no on-net retail pricing is
approved for the Class I
Licensees until the TRA has prior
approved a corresponding
underlying wholesale tariff for the
resellers.
Friendi strongly reiterates its
views that the immediate
implementation and enforcement
of MNP in Oman needs to occur
in order to remove this as a
barrier to consumer choice and
welfare. Delay in the
implementation is a barrier to long
term sustainable competition in
Oman and advantages the
incumbent Class I Licensees.
23
6. Breach of the Code
The TRA will regularly conduct
Omantel

29
assessments of the Licensees
compliance of the Code of Practice.
Any breach to the Code will be
investigated by the TRA and a
decision will be made to determine the
violation and the extent of damage
made to the beneficiary and market, in
addition to that to take any appropriate
regulatory measures including
financial penalties.
Omantel believes that this should
be within the condition of the
License and as per the set out
process either in the Law,
Standard Customer Agreement
and or the DRS as the case may
be.
Omantel
The TRA will be working in line with all its current
Regulations, decisions, License Conditions and the
Telecom Law and any amendments made to them or
new regulations which are issued by the TRA in the
future.
24
Miscellaneous issues raised in this
consultation which are not directly
relate to the Code
TRA received a number of
responses from the public and the
same points, which did not
necessarily relate to the Code but
they were raised as part of the
response. The most important
points can be summed as follows:
 High telecom service prices.
 Low speed of the internet
services
 Limited data volume included in
the Blackberry service.
 VOIP services
3G Coverage
The TRA has received many emails from the public
concerning the pricing and highlighting their concerns to
several issues outside the scope of the public
consultation.
These issues are being handled by the TRA at a more
relevant forum.

Tra's position statement on tariff transparency guidelines

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Tra's position statement on tariff transparency guidelines