Telecom services cheaper in Qatar than anywhere else in the Arab region

If you thought that telecommunications charges in Qatar are some of the lowest you have seen in the region, then you are absolutely correct.

A new study by Aregnet titled ‘Telecommunications Retail Price Benchmarking for Arab Countries’ showed that prices of communications services in Qatar were broadly lower than the rest of the GCC and Arab region. 

The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), in a statement, said it had participated in the study, which compares the prices of a range of telecom services across the GCC, Arab and OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) markets. 
The survey showed that mobile voice prices in Qatar fell by 57% since 2008, which is in line with the rest of the region. 

“However, importantly, for mobile voice services that included data bundles, prices in Qatar are below the GCC and Arab average (for low and medium usage) and on a par with the OECD average. For mobile voice services not including data packages, Qatar’s prices are on a par with the GCC and Arab averages but above the OECD average,” the statement said.

In both cases, Vodafone Qatar was cheaper than Ooredoo.

For mobile broadband services, there have been significant changes in Qatar over the last five years mainly due to the upgrade from 3G services to faster and cheaper 4G services, reported Gulf Times. 

Prices for mobile broadband in Qatar were among the lowest in the GCC for both residential and business services.

For residential fixed voice service prices, Qatar is well below both the GCC and Arab averages, and for low usage the OECD average as well.

However, for both fixed calls to a mobile and for business voice services, Qatar has some of the highest prices in the region, the study shows. One reason for this is that residential fixed charges have not changed since 2008 while the price of business fixed services have continued to rise over the same period, the CRA statement explained.

“The Aregnet Benchmarking Report is a vital tool for assessing the growth and impact of competition in the telecommunications sector in Qatar. We shall use the competition in Qatar as a means to foster growth and innovation for everyone’s benefit. While the report highlights significant progress, there’s still a long way to go,” CRA President Mohammed Ali Al Mannai was quoted as saying by The Peninsula.