Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality & Environment, Telecom Regulator Enter MoU on Mobile Stations, Towers

Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) and the Communication Regulatory Authority (CRA) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-operate in monitoring the non-ionising radiation levels of communication stations and towers for Qatar’s mobile communication service providers. The aim of this MoU is to enhance joint government work and support environmental development in the country, which is one of the four key pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030).

The MoU paves the way for joint cooperation in various areas, including approvals for communication stations and towers of mobile service providers, and handling the complaints related to radiation levels.

The MoU will help in the cooperation and coordination between MME and CRA about the necessary approvals needed to build and run communication stations and towers. This aims to ensure choosing the suitable sites and minimise the number of temporary and portable towers on wheels and replacing it with permanent ones with safe building specifications in accordance with the applicable instructions.

The MoU also contains agreement on joint cooperation in measuring and monitoring radiation levels at communication stations and towers to ensure that all mobile communication stations and towers are compatible with international standards. MME and CRA will exchange the measurements results carried out by each side to create and document a common database for Qatar, which will contain the values of the radiation levels of the various mobile communication stations and towers.

The MoU includes an agreement of cooperation between MME and CRA, in relation to dealing with complaints related to the levels of radiation from communication stations and towers. Coordination will be direct and continuous to make separate or joint measurements to check the level of radiation from the relevant station and to take the appropriate procedures, in accordance with the public interest. – Telecom Paper