Qatar’s CRA Launches Consultation on Draft Universal Service Policy
The policy aims to make sure every resident and business in Qatar can get a basic telecommunications service at their permanent home or business location, even where the market does not provide one, and whatever the financial barriers.
Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has published a draft Universal Service Policy for public consultation, dated September 2026. The policy aims to make sure every resident and business in Qatar can get a basic telecommunications service at their permanent home or business location, even where the market does not provide one, and whatever the financial barriers. The CRA says this will promote digital inclusion, allow participation in modern digital society and support essential services such as online education, healthcare applications and financial services. Stakeholders have until 8 October 2026 to respond.
The draft applies to 100% of permanent residences and permanent business locations in the country. The universal service consists of a broadband internet data service suitable for over-the-top video, messaging and voice calling, without restrictions on real-time communications. It also includes basic incoming voice and SMS, mainly for receiving one-time passwords and other digital security authorisations. A user without a mobile number can request a free SIM that allows incoming calls and texts and a limited amount of data for authorisation purposes. The service cannot carry a monthly data cap, although providers may apply traffic management such as temporary congestion controls if they apply it equally to universal service and other users. Emergency services are excluded because they must already be free under existing licences and consumer protection rules.
On quality, the service must meet the CRA’s Quality of Service Regulation, issued in December 2025. Its minimum speed is set to match the current mobile broadband requirement of 20 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. That requirement applies to 90% of measurements in urban areas and 50% in non-urban areas. The draft says the universal service speed must apply to every delivery and be available at all times of day, including busy hours.
Affordability is a central feature of the draft. Low-income users would get a discounted service whose price is capped at 2% of Qatar’s national gross minimum wage, including accommodation and food allowances. The CRA says this follows the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission target of broadband costing no more than 2% of gross national income per capita. It uses the minimum wage instead of the average so that the cap targets the lowest-income users. To qualify, a user must earn less than three times the national gross minimum wage, including allowances, and must submit valid proof of income to the provider. Low-income users can request the discounted service even where commercial services already exist at their home. Businesses cannot request the discounted version.
The draft sets out how requests would be handled. A user at an eligible location with no qualifying service can ask any provider for one, and providers must offer the service, including the discounted version, across their sales channels, such as websites and shops. The CRA will keep a GIS registry to verify which locations are eligible. Providers have 15 business days to accept or decline a request and 30 business days to deliver and activate the service after accepting it or being designated. They can ask the CRA for an extension in exceptional cases, such as when ducts and fibre must be installed. If no provider accepts a valid request, the CRA will designate one. Its preferred choice is the provider with the lowest expected net cost, for example because it already has infrastructure nearby. Where net costs are broadly equal, it may pick the provider that has fulfilled the fewest universal service requests, to share the work fairly. A provider that fails to comply with a valid request can be compelled to act, fined, or both.
On funding, the draft says providers should bear the cost themselves unless it amounts to an “unfair burden,” defined as a net cost above 1% of a provider’s revenue in any financial year. If a funding need arises, a mechanism would be set up in line with Article 39 of the Telecommunications Law and Article 71 of its Executive By-Law, and it would have to be transparent and competitively neutral. The policy also says it is technology neutral, so providers can use any technology that meets the quality requirements. It would enter into force six months after it is issued, and the CRA may add other vulnerable groups through later annexes. The policy also states that the Arabic version is the official one.
The CRA is asking for comments on ten questions covering the objectives, legal basis, scope, funding, obligations, implementation, enforcement, speed requirements, price cap and income threshold. Respondents who disagree with a proposal should explain why, offer an alternative and give supporting data. Responses should go by email to uspconsultation@cra.gov.qa, using the template in the annex and the subject line “Consultation on Universal Service Policy.” The CRA plans to publish responses on its website unless confidentiality is requested, in which case a redacted version must be supplied. Questions about the process can go to Heba Zaina, acting head of the Quality of Service section, at hzaina@cra.gov.qa. The document stresses that it is not final or binding and that the CRA does not have to adopt any comments.
The draft does not state the actual minimum wage figure or the resulting price cap in riyals, so the cap is only given as a percentage. If you plan to publish this, check the deadline and submission details against the CRA’s website, since this is a draft that may change.
