Qatar’s mobile operators have been given seven months to switch from FDD to TDD in the 2.6GHz frequency band by the country’s regulator.
Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has issued a decision to mobile service providers Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar, ordering them to switch to the time division duplex (TDD) technology to improve the performance of public mobile networks in Qatar.
FDD and TDD are full-duplex models of transceivers. FDD uses different frequencies to communicate in uplink and downlink whereas TDD uses different time slots for communication. This makes TDD more efficient in terms of spectrum utilisation but also limits its range. However, TDD’s spectrum efficiency is clearly the main focus of this decision.
The aim, it seems is to ensure that optimal use of the available frequency is made, ensuring harmonised usage across the Gulf region, and in the future, enhancing consumer experience.
The ruling is also described as being in line with the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the standards of other international standardisation bodies and organisations supporting both 4G and 5G technologies.
After the CRA's decision, mobile service providers are required to cease all operations using the current frequency division duplex (FDD) technology and migrate to TDD by 31 March 2025.
It seems the CRA decision comes with a bonus: there will be additional bandwidth for mobile service providers in response to the growth in demand for high-speed mobile services driven, in large part, by artificial intelligence (AI), 5G applications, cloud and edge computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
