How to Start a Telecommunications Services Business in Dubai

There is a large gap between owning a phone network and working in telecoms. Most of the money in the sector goes to firms that resell, manage, advise and connect without laying a metre of cable. Activity code 6190 is the license for that work, and it keeps you well clear of the carrier regime.

This guide covers what 6190 lets you do, who it suits, how to set up your license through Meydan Free Zone, and where TDRA registration still applies even without spectrum. Knowing what this license is not is as useful as knowing what it is.

Key Stats at a Glance

What This License Covers

ISIC code 6190, Other Telecommunications Activities, captures the broad range of telecoms services sitting outside basic voice and data carrier operations. It is a commercial license for businesses operating inside the telecoms ecosystem without owning network infrastructure.

The services it covers are:

• Satellite uplink and downlink services
• VoIP resale and managed voice solutions
• Telecoms consultancy and network planning
• IoT connectivity management and provisioning
• Network monitoring and managed services
• Spectrum brokerage and frequency coordination advisory
• Telecoms infrastructure project management

What it does not cover is licensed carrier operations needing spectrum allocated directly by TDRA. If your model depends on owning and running a public network, a separate TDRA carrier license applies and this is the wrong code.

Who Your Clients Will Be

The license suits a specific kind of operator: one that sits in the telecoms value chain without owning the pipes.

• B2B telecoms resellers
• Managed service providers
• Satellite operators offering uplink and downlink
• IoT connectivity and provisioning businesses
• Telecoms consultants and network planning firms

The demand behind those roles comes mainly from enterprise and government clients across the GCC. Beyond the two national carriers, there is sustained appetite for managed telecoms services, IoT infrastructure, satellite connectivity and specialist advisory, and that is precisely the space 6190 holders occupy.

IoT is the segment worth watching. The GCC IoT market is projected to grow considerably through 2028, driven by smart city initiatives and industrial investment, with Dubai and the wider UAE central to it. Because 6190 directly covers IoT connectivity management and provisioning, managed service providers, platform operators and connectivity resellers can all serve that demand without needing a full carrier license.

Mainland or Free Zone

A Meydan Free Zone license permits you to serve clients internationally and within the free zone environment, with 100% foreign ownership and no local sponsor. Serving UAE mainland clients directly may call for extra steps or a mainland commercial registration from the Department of Economy and Tourism. Work out where your revenue will actually come from before you pick a structure. Let your clients decide it, not the price.

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Step by Step Setup Guide

• Step 1, confirm your activity and trade name: Check that Other Telecommunications Activities, 6190, covers everything you intend to sell, and test name availability before you apply.
• Step 2, select your package and legal structure: Most founders set up as a Free Zone LLC. Branch structures are available for existing companies expanding into the UAE.
• Step 3, send in your documents and take your license: Passport copies, a business plan summary and completed application forms. Meydan Free Zone typically issues licenses within a few business days once documents are complete.
• Step 4, open a bank account and process visas: Founder and employee visas come through the free zone. Bank account opening runs in parallel, so allow 2 to 4 weeks depending on the institution.
• Step 5, register with TDRA where it applies: If your services fall inside TDRA's notification or licensing categories, complete that registration before going live commercially.

Compliance and What You Need in Place

TDRA registration

This is the part founders most often miss. TDRA calls for registration or notification for certain categories of telecoms service provider operating in the UAE, even where no spectrum license is involved. If your services touch VoIP resale, satellite services or network management for third parties, verify your position directly with TDRA before you start trading. A free zone license does not settle this question on its own.

Knowing your boundary

The line between 6190 and a carrier license is worth respecting in writing as well as in practice. You can resell, manage, advise and integrate. You cannot own and run a public network or hold spectrum. Drifting across that line is a licensing problem rather than a technical one.

VAT

Telecoms services are standard-rated at 5%, and registration with the Federal Tax Authority becomes mandatory once taxable turnover passes AED 375,000. Build it into your pricing from day one rather than absorbing it after the fact, because in a resale model thin margins do not leave room to swallow it later.

Contracts

Where you are managing networks or provisioning connectivity for third parties, your service-level agreements are the commercial product. Define uptime, response times and escalation clearly, because enterprise and government clients will hold you to what the document says rather than what you meant.

Market Opportunity

The underlying market is unusually strong. Statista puts UAE mobile penetration above 190%, which reflects a dense, multi-SIM market rather than a saturated one, and fixed broadband speeds place the UAE among the top ten globally. That is infrastructure most operators elsewhere would envy.

Position helps too. The UAE sits as a connectivity hub linking Asia, Africa and Europe, which makes it a logical operational base for businesses working across the telecoms value chain rather than just serving one country. Digital infrastructure is also a core pillar of UAE Vision 2031, so government-backed investment in the sector continues rather than tapering.

The commercial opening is in what the carriers do not do. Enterprise and government clients across the GCC need managed telecoms services, IoT infrastructure, satellite connectivity and specialist advice, and the Invest in Dubai platform names telecoms and digital infrastructure as a priority sector under the emirate's economic development agenda. That is a large addressable market for well-positioned 6190 holders.

Conclusion

Activity code 6190 gives you a flexible entry into the UAE telecoms sector, covering a broad range of B2B services without the complexity or capital of a full carrier license. The market is established and the regulatory framework is clear.

The one thing to get right early is TDRA. Check whether your specific services trigger registration or notification, complete it before you go live, and keep your scope inside the license. Everything else about this setup is short and predictable.

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References

• Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA)
• Statista
• Invest in Dubai
• Federal Tax Authority