Qatar’s telecommunications sector has contributed 1.7% to Qatar’s GDP in the last financial year, up from 1.3% in 2014, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) said in an assessment report on Wednesday.
The telecommunications market also saw investments of around QR1.25bn (12% of service providers’ annual revenues) towards development of infrastructure and services, and in preparation for future technologies.
The assessment confirms that the consumers benefited from competition in the mobile market. However, there is a distinct lack of competition in the fixed-line market. It is also evident that the service providers continue to diversify in providing innovative services and products, adapting new business models paving the way to a truly digital economy. 
Market revenues remain unchanged compared to 2015 (around QR10bn), a sign that the mobile telecommunication market in Qatar has matured. This is due to an effective competition framework implementation in the mobile market and a different population mix. 
Service providers have adapted to these changes, enhancing efficiency and competitive prices, as shown in improving EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins (Ooredoo’s EBITDA margin increased in 2016 from 47% to 49%, while Vodafone’s increased from 25% to 31%), the CRA report said.
The service providers are also diversifying their revenue streams into associated activities, such as handset and equipment sale, data centre activities, IP-TV, etc, accounting for 22% of their revenues in 2016 (up from around 19% in 2014).
“The ICT sector in Qatar continues to make a valuable contribution to the national economy and we are now seeing a mature market develop. Service providers are adapting well to this macro change by diversifying their businesses and becoming more efficient. This is positive for consumers as the impact of competition in the mobile market has reduced prices and increased the range and quality of services that are available, said Mohamed Ali al-Mannai, president, CRA. 
“CRA is pleased to see service providers investing part of revenues on future growth, innovation and demand. These developments are in line with the CRA’s mission to foster a sustainable marketplace and improve consumers experience. CRA is now working expediently to avail the benefits of competition for all consumers in the fixed line market,” he added. 
The fixed-line network development in Qatar is dominated by Ooredoo, and 99% of Qatar’s households are in areas covered by a fibre optic network. Ooredoo’s market share remains stable around 97%. 
According to Qatar’s ‘ICT Landscape 2015: Households and Individuals’ (MoTC) report, 86% of the households have fixed wired broadband network. 
With a nationwide fibre optic network, consumers can enjoy a high service speed. Some 90% of the consumers are on packages of 10 Mbps and above (up from 72% at the end of 2014). 
The number of “double play” consumers (ie, subscribing to voice and broadband services) increased by almost 10% in 2016, while the number of ‘triple play’ consumers (i.e. subscribing to voice, broadband and IP-TV services) increased by almost 20% in the same period. These figures indicate consumers are becoming more sophisticated in their services consumption. This evolution will, in the medium term, help to increase the service providers’ revenues.
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