Qatar had developed a mature telecom sector which has been able to absorb the additional data demands made on it during the pandemic. Mobile services based on LTE are universally available, and this has helped the two operators Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar to migrate to 5G. In combination with a strong fibre rollout, the country is aiming to provide gigabit services nationally.
5G services are largely based on 3.5GHz spectrum made available following an auction in early 2019.
BuddeComm notes that the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
- Regulator amends wholesale tariffs on mobile networks through to 2023;
- Regulator gains increased powers allowing it greater scrutiny of telcos;
- Increasing international capacity assisting Qatar's long-term development goals as stated in the Qatar National Vision 2030 program;
- Report includes the regulator’s market data reports to December 2020, telcos’ financial and operating data to June 2021, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, an assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
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Developing Telecoms market report summaries are produced in partnership with BuddeComm, the world’s largest continually updated online telecommunications research service.
The above article is a summary of the following BuddeComm report:
Report title: Qatar - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Edition: September 2021
Lead Analyst: Sebastien De Rosbo
Number of pages: 104
Companies mentioned in this report: Ooredoo Qatar, Vodafone Qatar, Qatar National Broadband Network (QNBN)
Single User PDF Licence Price: US$890
For more information or to purchase a copy of the full report please use the following link: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Qatar-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?r=83
