Page 80 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

CRA Opens Access to Over 4,860 Km of Government Telecom Infrastructure

Across Qatar

The Communications Regulatory
Authority (CRA) has opened access
to more than 4,860 kilometers of
government telecom duct infrastructure
across Qatar. This milestone forms part
of CRA’s broader regulatory mandate
to optimize the use of national telecom
assets, enable licensed service providers
to scale their networks more efficiently,
and support the delivery of high-quality
digital services to homes and businesses.
The initiative reflects CRA’s strategic
objective to promote fair and open access
to essential telecom infrastructure—
reducing duplicate deployments,
improving investment efficiency, and
accelerating the rollout of next-generation
technologies such as fiber-to-the-home
(FTTH) and 5G. It directly supports
Qatar’s ambitions for a robust digital
economy and future-ready connectivity
ecosystem. Mr. Ali Al-Suwaidi, Director
of the Technical Affairs Department at
CRA stated: “Ensuring equitable access
to national telecom infrastructure is a
core part of our regulatory mandate.
It enables licensed service providers
to scale efficiently and deliver reliable
services that meet users’ expectations.
This initiative reflects our commitment
to advancing Qatar’s digital ecosystem,
supporting innovation, and contributing
to economic diversification. We also
commend the strong collaboration
with Ashghal in realizing this strategic
milestone.” Delivered in collaboration with
the Public Works Authority (Ashghal),
the infrastructure spans 60 projects
and covers over 40,000 residential,
commercial, and government premises
nationwide. The rollout was governed by
a 2014 Memorandum of Understanding duct network as a foundation for reliable and digital government services. It also
between CRA and Ashghal, which and scalable connectivity. CRA oversees fosters competition by making it easier
formalized planning, construction, and access to the network through its Duct for consumers to switch between service
transfer protocols. To date, more than Management System (DMS), a GIS-based providers and improves the overall digital
15,500 premises have been connected via digital platform that facilitates real-time user experience. CRA, as the designated
the CRA-managed government telecom capacity visibility, application processing, regulatory authority, continues to oversee
duct infrastructure. Ooredoo has utilized and coordination for network extensions. the construction handover and regulated
468 kilometers of ducts to serve 2,010 This ensures transparency, efficiency, and availability of government telecom ducts in
consumers premises, while Vodafone alignment with national infrastructure coordination with relevant entities. These
Qatar has deployed 251 kilometers policy. This access model enhances efforts are aligned with Qatar National
to connect 1,150 of its consumers. the quality of digital services for users, Vision 2030 and aim to ensure sustainable
These figures underscore growing enabling high-performance connectivity infrastructure development and a thriving
industry reliance on a shared national that supports remote work, e-learning, digital economy.

80 JUNE-JULY 2025