Telecommunications in Qatar
Telephones - main lines in use: 327,000 (2012)[1]
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,600,000 (2012)[1]
Telephone system:
modern system centered in Doha
domestic:
NA
international:
tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998)[1]
Radios: 256,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997)[1]
Televisions: 230,000 (1997)
Internet
As of 2015, there are two ISPs in Qatar: Ooredoo (formerly Q-Tel) and Vodafone Qatar.[2] There were 563,800 internet users in 2009.[1] The country code (top level domain) is QA. ADSL was launched in 2002 in Qatar by Ooredoo. There were 25,000 ADSL users in 2005.[3]
A 2015 report by the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development ranked Qatar in first place among the developing countries by their respective percentage population using internet. The country also ranked second globally for percentage of households with internet.[4]
5G
As of February 2023, 5G coverage in Qatar is at 70%. Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar, the two major mobile operators in Qatar, have both announced plans to expand their 5G networks to cover the entire country by the end of 2023. The bandwidth of a 5G network in Qatar can be up to 100 MHz in frequency range 1 (FR1: 450 MHz to 6 GHz).
5G is expected to have a major impact on the economy of Qatar. It is expected to boost the country's GDP by $16 billion by 2025 and create over 100,000 jobs.
References
- "Communications". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- Peter Kovessy (25 September 2015). "Survey: Telecom customers in Qatar want a third operator". Doha News. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- "Q-Tel's ADSL base up 132%". Telegeography. 28 February 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- "Internet penetration: Qatar ranks first". Gulf Times. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.