Qatar Ranks #2 for Telecom Customer Sentiment in Kearney’s 2026 Global Index

Qatar is ahead of the world’s all others in Kearney’s Global Telecom Health Index 2026, which includes customer sentiment among its eight components. The outcome illustrates the nation’s digital capabilities, high-speed connectivity and capacity to deliver the customer a positive digital experience by investing in the network.

The broader top 10 comprised Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Malaysia, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and China, indicating the growing strength of the telecom markets in the Gulf in global markets.

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What Kearney’s Index Measures?

In its benchmarking, Kearney evaluated 34 national telecom markets based on 20 indicators in five areas: Customers, Telecommunications Environment, Technology Deployment, Commercial Capability, and Financial Performance.

Amongst its key differentiators, Qatar was the market with the strongest sentiment about the products, and in terms of technology deployment, it also ranked among the leading markets in the world. The results indicate that infrastructure and customer experience are becoming ever more intertwined indicators of the health of the telecom sector.

Power of 5G and Fiber

Investment in advanced connectivity is one key to Qatar’s performance. The widespread availability of a quality 5G network and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) infrastructure has enabled the provision of digital services at a fast pace and in a reliable and effective manner.

Kearney’s conclusions highlight the potential for a “virtuous cycle which can drive investors to invest in infrastructure; drive operators’ service quality; drive service commercial impact; drive operators’ return; and drive infrastructure further investments.

Why Qatar’s Smaller Market Is No Disadvantage?

Among LCO users, Qatar stands out in particular, given that its performance in the health of its telecom sector does not seem to simply correlate with the size of its population or to GDP per capita. Qatar had a population of about three million, considerably better than some of the larger markets.

This indicates smaller countries can achieve world-class telecom outcomes with high-level infrastructure investment, a focus on effective infrastructure deployment and the higher concentration of operator structures.

Does Market Concentration Help?

Kearney’s analysis also identifies markets with two and three-big mobile operator competitors as top performers. Markets featuring four or more operators indicated weaker average scores compared with markets that did not have these types of scores.

The highly concentrated nature of Qatar’s telecom sector makes it an interesting example where competition, investment capability and network economics converge on each other. This does not mean that fewer operators necessarily means more: it means it can mean more depending on the market structure.

What Qatar’s Ranking Means for the Region?

Qatar’s customer-sentiment leadership adds to the Gulf’s emerging status as a world hub for connectivity. With the increasing deployment of 5G, fiber, cloud computing, streaming, gaming, and AI, the quality of telecom is no longer just about a consumer experience; it’s a key to digital growth.

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