Doha, Qatar: The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has opened access to more than 4,860km of government telecom duct infrastructure across Qatar. This forms part of CRA’s broader regulatory mandate to optimise the use of national telecom assets, enable licensed service providers to scale their networks more efficiently, and support the delivery of high-quality digital services to homes and businesses.

The initiative reflects CRA’s strategic objective to promote fair and open access to essential telecom infrastructure—reducing duplicate deployments, improving investment efficiency, and accelerating the rollout of next-generation technologies such as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and 5G. It supports Qatar’s ambitions for a robust digital economy and future-ready connectivity ecosystem.

Ali Al-Suwaidi, Director of the Technical Affairs Department at CRA stated: “Ensuring equitable access to national telecom infrastructure is a core part of our regulatory mandate. It enables licensed service providers to scale efficiently and deliver reliable services that meet users’ expectations. This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing Qatar’s digital ecosystem, supporting innovation, and contributing to economic diversification. We also commend the strong collaboration with Ashghal in realising this strategic milestone.”

Delivered in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), the infrastructure spans 60 projects and covers over 40,000 residential, commercial, and government premises nationwide. The rollout was governed by a 2014 Memorandum of Understanding between CRA and Ashghal, which formalised planning, construction, and transfer protocols.

To date, more than 15,500 premises have been connected via the CRA-managed government telecom duct infrastructure. Ooredoo has utilised 468km of ducts to serve 2,010 consumers premises, while Vodafone Qatar has deployed 251km to connect 1,150 of its consumers. These figures underscore growing industry reliance on a shared national duct network as a foundation for reliable and scalable connectivity.

CRA oversees access to the network through its Duct Management System (DMS), a GIS-based digital platform that facilitates real-time capacity visibility, application processing, and coordination for network extensions.

This ensures transparency, efficiency, and alignment with national infrastructure policy.

This access model enhances the quality of digital services for users, enabling high-performance connectivity that supports remote work, e-learning, and digital government services. It also fosters competition.

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