Penetration and usage

Qatar is the second most connected country in the Arab region, with a penetration rate of 28 percent (2009).

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) is the telecommunications service provider licensed by the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology to provide both fixed and mobile telecommunications services. Qtel offers domain name registration, pre-paid Internet cards, instant Internet access (via a telephone line, allowing payment for the Internet through the phone bill), and ADSL lines. However, as of November 2006 Qtel’s monopoly on Internet services officially ended. Though the licensing procedure for new ISPs has not yet been published or implemented, the goal was to “issue licenses to new fixed and mobile providers by the end of 2007.”

Broadband penetration in Qatar is rapidly increasing. As of April 2008, it stands at 50 percent. Qtel had some 1.25 million mobile users as of December 2007, which indicates a more than 100 percent penetration rate in Qatar. Qtel also has about 50,000 customers connected to its 3.5G mobile network.

Various plans exist to spread Internet access, such as making free wireless Internet available in various parks in Qatar,25 making wireless coverage nationwide,26 and by “Remote Locations services (Wireless Local Loop) that uses Broadband Point-to-Multipoint Radio technology.”27

In Qatar, “Web censorship focuses on three areas: pornography, political criticism of Gulf leaders and anti-Islamic sites” all in the name of “maintain[ing] ethical standards” and protecting “the culture of the society.”28 However, such sites are said to be blocked only for private and home users, while businesses can access the websites.29

Qatar’s Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 concluded that, even though there are many e-education initiatives in Qatar, parental anxiety might prevent children from enrolling in these initiatives.30 The report claims that in the Qatari society, “the issue of inappropriate content on the Internet is a huge barrier to wholesale adoption of the technology. Some parents resist children's Internet use and a wide technological divide exists between children and their parents.”31

A local media report said that 41 percent of youngsters in Qatar spend most of their summer vacation at Internet cafés, mostly browsing pornographic Web sites, as Internet cafés are able to bypass Qtel’s filtering regime.32

Legal and regulatory framework

Qatar’s Supreme Council for Communications and Information Technology, (ictQatar) is the main regulatory authority in Qatar.

In 2006 a new Telecommunications law was promulgated. Much of the Telecommunications law is dedicated to competition and dominant service providers. Article 23 states that for the purpose of interconnection any service provider can be designated as the dominant service provider in one or more telecommunications markets “in accordance with the competition policy.” Chapter 9 lays out the competition policy; Article 43 describes abuses of dominance. No details are available for the licensing of ISPs, only that the General Secretariat is in charge of licensing. Chapter 15 states that “power of monitoring and enforcement,” with the permission of the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Board, “may require service providers or others to provide information necessary for exercising its powers, and the information shall be furnished in the form, manner, and time as the government specifies.”

The last chapter of the law covers offenses and penalties—mostly having to do with penalties that violate the previously mentioned articles, privacy, or security. However, there are two subsets in this chapter which have a broader scope: clause 6 of Article 66 states that any person who uses “a telecommunication network” or allows “such use for the purposes of disturbing, irritating or offending any persons” can be fined or imprisoned for up to one year. Also, under clause 7 of Article 66, “using any facility or telecommunications service in a manner that violates the rules of this Law or other laws” is punishable in the same manner. The vague wording of both these articles restricts Internet users, as they can be applied in various cases.

According to Qtel, Internet censorship revolves around three main areas: pornography, political criticism of Gulf countries, and sites containing materials deemed offensive to Islam. However, Internet users in Qatar have complained that Qtel has blocked non-obscene or non-offensive Web sites. Qatar’s telecom regulator ictQATAR said it does not advise Qtel on blocking Internet sites and that Qtel blocks sites in accordance with the guidelines issued by law enforcment authorities.

In July 2008, ictQATAR allowed QTel and Vodafone Qatar to provide voice services to the public and made it legal for any person or business to use VoIP services for voice calls for their own use. Businesses within the State of Qatar are prohibited from selling VoIP calls or services to the public without a license issued by ictQATAR.

Surveillance and filtering

There are no reports of specific Internet surveillance in Qatar, but a report by Reporters Without Borders said that Qtel, “has the means to spy on messages sent through the other ISPs.”41 A U.S. State Department Human Rights report said that the government of Qatar censors the Internet through a proxy server that monitors and blocks Web sites, e-mail, and chat rooms through the state-owned ISP.42

Internet users have heavily censored access to the Internet. The censors publicly acknowledge blocking pornography, political criticism of Gulf countries, and sites deemed offensive to Islam, but Internet users complain that non-obscene or non-offensive Web sites are also blocked. In addition to porn, gay and lesbian content, and dating and escorting services, results show extensive filtering of content on sex health issues - including that produced by academic institutions - and online privacy and circumvention tools. Political filtering is limited, but journalists practice self-censorship and avoid reporting on sensitive issues. Interestingly, the filtering in Qatar, which is relatively transparent (a block page is served), is advised by the law-enforcement authorities rather than the telecom regulator.