CRA Boosts Access to Global Connectivity Through Submarine Cable Network

Publication Staff, Qatar News Agency
July 20, 2026

Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority has issued Decision No. 12 of 2026, establishing a framework for access to submarine cable landing station international-connectivity services. The decision is accompanied by implementation guidelines and follows a market assessment and two rounds of consultation with service providers and other stakeholders.

Licensed operators of cable landing stations in Qatar must prepare formal access offers and submit them to the CRA within specified deadlines. Each offer must describe the available services, prices, and contractual conditions. Once the regulator approves an offer, the operator must publish it so prospective access seekers can evaluate the available terms through a transparent framework.

The regulation also defines procedures for submitting access requests, conducting negotiations, and resolving disputes. Its scope includes co-location, cross-connects, backhaul connections, and managed services associated with submarine cable landing facilities. Pricing must be fair, reasonable, based on the service provided, and applied without discrimination.

CRA designed the rules as technology-neutral and symmetric, allowing them to remain applicable as Qatar’s connectivity market evolves and additional providers enter. Non-mandatory guidelines provide templates, service descriptions, and recommended structures to help operators assemble compliant offers.

By clarifying how landing-station capacity and related services can be accessed, the authority aims to increase predictability for market participants, encourage infrastructure investment, and support competition. The measure also links international cable access with Qatar’s expanding cloud, data center, and digital-services ecosystem, as well as the country’s development strategy for 2024-2030 and Qatar National Vision 2030.

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