Qatar to begin market liberalisation in second quarter

Qatar’s Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) said it would consult potential new telecoms operators by the end of this month, before publishing details of a new licensing plan in the second quarter. ‘The licensing process is expected to be completed by the end of 2007,’ a statement said. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Qatar’s telecoms sector, currently a monopoly of state-run Qtel, is set to be liberalised in phases beginning this year under legislation issued in November 2006.