Qatari Regulator Reports an Average Speed of 304Mbps on 5G Networks During the FIFA World Cup

The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) affirms that during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ the telecom Service Providers Ooredoo Qatar Q.P.S.C. and Vodafone Qatar P.Q.S.C. have provided consumers with high-quality mobile telecom services.

The average daily voice calls volume made within the State of Qatar reached about 44 million minutes per day, with a success rate of 99.8%, according to the relevant indicators during the Group stages. In terms of mobile data, the average daily data usage within the country reached about 2,866 terabytes (TB) with an average download speed of 304 Megabits per second (Mbps) and an average upload speed of 20.8 Mbps on the Fifth Generation (5G) networks.

High-quality mobile telecom services were available to fans in all eight World Cup stadiums. According to the indicators, the average daily voice calls from the stadiums crossed 1 million minutes, with a success rate of about 99.9%. In terms of average mobile data usage per match, it reached 20 TB with an average download speed of 355 Mbps and 63 Mbps on the upload from the 5G network. On November 20, 2022, at the Al Bayt stadium, for the tournament opening day, over 50 TB of data usage was recorded.

Additionally, CRA has deployed probes in multiple locations in all stadiums for monitoring the Quality of Service (QoS) from the user perspective in real-time during the matches. The probes recorded download speeds that reached around 1.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) and upload speeds of 183 Mbps with 10 milliseconds latency on the 5G network. The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) for voice calls made to and from the stadiums, averaged 4.3 out of 5 according to the probes, which indicates excellent voice call quality according to relevant scale.

In order to ensure the development of the highest standard telecom networks and infrastructures, CRA develops proper regulatory instruments, grants the telecom Service Providers the necessary licenses, determines the necessary obligations on them, and monitors their compliance with these obligations. In December 2021, CRA amended Annexure “G” (related to Network Rollout and Coverage Obligations), which is part of telecom Service Providers’ licenses. Moreover, CRA released additional spectrum which totals 1,000 MHz to each Service Provider for 5G network, with the aim of ensuring that mobile telecom consumers have an enhanced experience during the tournament.

CRA expresses its gratitude to the telecom Service Providers for their investments in improving their infrastructure in the State of Qatar and for their eagerness to adopt the use of latest technologies, which aided in the provision of high-quality mobile telecom services to consumers during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.