Doha, Qatar (July 20, 2008): Recent newspaper articles have given inaccurate or incomplete accounts of Qatar's legal position regarding Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).The following is a clarification of the legal position of VoIP technology in Qatar from the Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR), the country's telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
VoIP is a technology for the delivery of voice services using existing internet infrastructure and services. There are no laws or rules that prohibit the use of such technology within the State of Qatar.
The Telecommunications Law 34 of 2006 does, however, make it illegal for any person to provide telecommunications services to the public for a direct or indirect fee without a license issued by ictQATAR for that purpose.
Currently the only two entities licensed by ictQATAR to provide such voice services to the public in Qatar are Qatar Telecom (QTel) Q.S.C. and Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C.
In summary, the position on VoIP is:
1. Any person or business within the State of Qatar may use VoIP services for voice calls for their own use; and
2. No person or business within the State of Qatar may sell VoIP calls or services to the public or businesses without a license issued by ictQATAR. The only two companies currently licensed for that purpose are QTel and Vodafone.
ictQATAR is committed to encouraging the availability of the latest technology to Qatari citizens and residents.
Any person with further questions about Qatar's VoIP policy may contact ictQATAR by email at consumervoice@ict.gov.qa or by calling our consumer help line at +974 499 5353.
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