I'm not defending it - I think it should be open. I'm just saying your target is not the right one. :) Even Maged Al Futtaim (or maybe it was Obaid Al Tayer) advocated and pushed for this - and he was the finance minister at the time and lost.

On rates - that too is not the right target - TDRA dictates the minimum pricing and every price plan the carrier put out has to be approved by them. The dirty little secret is that they can't even introduce new app features and flows without going through the regulator for approval. If TDRA would loosen up on the price controls, then sure - could blame the carriers/duopoly, but right now they have TDRA cover.