Qtel told to stop Virgin Mobile service in Qatar

News Wireless Qatar 7 JUN 2011
Qtel told to stop Virgin Mobile service in Qatar
The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (IctQatar), the telecommunications regulator in Qatar, has instructed Qtel to close all Qtel Virgin Mobile-branded services in Qatar. Qtel is required to transfer all existing customers currently on Qtel Virgin Mobile Service (QVMS) to a similar Qtel service, or provide a full cash refund for the value of their QVMS Sim card (QAR 35) and any credit balance they have in their account. Qtel is also required to remove the Virgin Mobile brand from the marketplace. Qtel will announce the start date for its customer migration/refund program and communicate full details to customers in the next few days. All Virgin Mobile-branded Sim cards must be de-activated by 4 August. Virgin already stopped taking on new subscribers earlier this year. This followed a legal challenge from Vodafone Qatar, which said the entry of a new player on the market violated the terms of its licence. Qtel said it intends to automatically migrate all existing QVMS customers to the Qtel Hala service, allowing Virgin customers to retain their numbers and credit balances. Customers will need to visit a Qtel shop to swap their Sim cards.

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Virgin Mobile,  Qtel,  Vodafone Qatar,  ICTQatar

Countries:

Qatar

Tags:

Voice services, Launch, Regulations

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