The Qatar Electricity and Water Department is the sale distributor of water and electricity. When you rent accommodation make sure the electricity and water are connected before you move in. This is easily done if your company or the real estate, agency doesn't arrange it for you.

You will find the reference number on the outside wall of your villa. For apartments, ask the building management where to locate it. This number, together with a no objection letter from your sponsor and a copy of his ID; an application form signed by the same person who signed the lease, a copy of the lease and a security deposit of QR 2,000 (QR 1,200 for electricity and QR 800 for water) must be taken to one of the Kahramaa (Electricity and Water) offices.

Bills are sent out every month. For the first five months the bills are estimates and from the sixth month an actual meter reading will be taken. This is known as a reconciliation bill and is generally higher than the estimates. Apartment bills tend to be between QR 200 and QR 400 and villas tend to be between QR 800 and QR 1,000.

You can pay your bill online at www.kahramaa.com. by telephone on 465 1100, at any of the banks in Doha, or at the Customer Service Centre. Customer Service Centre contact numbers are: Doha Centre: 462 8373, salwa Centre: 469 3764, Post Office: 483 1876. The voltage in Qatar is 240 volt and the sockets are three-pin, although most appliances you buy will have two-pin plugs! So, stock up on adaptors.

Tap water is safe to drink, but most expats drink mineral water, which you can either buy from the supermarket in boxes or have delivered to your residence in five-gallon bottles. The fivegallon bottles can either be used with a water cooler or a pump.

Water Suppliers
AI Manhal	4603332
Rayyan Mineral Water Co.	4877664
Safa International	4606699

Most houses are connected to the main sewerage system. Many of the new houses have been built in areas which are not yet connected to the main sewerage system; these houses will have septic tanks which will be emptied on a regular basis.

There is no mainline gas in Qatar, so if you have a gas cooker, you will have to use gas cylinders that will be delivered to your residence. The gas cylinders cost QR 140 for the first time and thereafter QR 35 for a refilled cylinder. Initial payment is more expensive as you have to pay for the cylinder. It can be fairly difficult to get the gas from the trucks delivering the cylinders as they do not carry mobiles. This means you must listen carefully for them and catch their attention as they drive past.

Gas Suppliers
Ahmed Al Rayes for Gas	4651555
Mashahdi Gas Co.	4423016
Qatar Gas Import and Distributing Co.	4421892

Usually villas have a green bin outside their gates, applied for by the landlord. Garbage trucks come round and collect the rubbish a number of times a week, depending on which area you live. If you live in an apartment, they will have garbage chutes which are emptied by the municipality garbage trucks. All rubbish is taken to a landfill, which is located about an hour's drive outside the city. There are no recycling systems in place in Qatar yet.

Qatar Public Telecommunications Corporation (Qtel) is the exclusive telephone company in Qatar. Your sponsor can apply for your telephone line once you have your residence visa, or you can visit a Qtel service centre yourself to fill in the application. You'll need a copy of your ID card. Make sure you apply for an ADSL internet connection at the same time, if you require one.

Local phone calls (land line to landline) are free, while calls made to or from mobiles are charged at reasonable rates. International calls can be made at reduced rates between 19:00 and 07:00 Saturday to Thursday, and all day Friday and on public holidays. For international directory assistance, call 190.

The rental charge for a standard landline is QR 100 per quarter. For bill enquiries call 146, and to pay your bill by credit card over the phone dial 149. Landline customers can opt for additional services including call barring, call waiting, call forwarding, conference calling and caller ID.

Qtel is also the only mobile phone network provider in Qatar. To apply for a postpaid account you can take a letter from your sponsor, or you can pay a deposit instead. There is a one time connection fee of QR 250 plus a monthly rental of QR 50, and customers get access to a number of services including fax, data, and the 'Freedom' package that includes news, entertainment and ringtones. An alternative to postpaid is the 'pay as you go' option called Hala. Hala SIM cards are available at Qtel offices, and the scratch-off recharge cards, with values of QR 30, QR 50 and QR 100, are widely available in shops, supermarkets, and Qtel offices. (These 'Q-Cards' can also be used to make local and international calls from landline phones.) There are two types of Hala SIM cards - Hala Plus and Hala Talk. A Hala Plus SIM card costs QR 300, contains QR 50 of credit, and is initially valid for 360 days (but this can be extended). The Hala Talk SIM card is cheaper at QR 200, and comes with QR 100 of credit, but is valid for only 60 days so is more suited to tourists and short term visitors. Again though, the validity of this card can be extended.

For information on these services and more, visit the Qtel website at www.qtel.com.qa

You can get connected to the internet by applying to Qtel once you have your residence visa. Qtel offers a range of packages and services for internet access, the cheapest of which is the 'Eshtirak' dialo up connection for residential use that costs QR 2 per hour plus a QR 20 monthly fee. You will need a letter from your sponsor and it is a good idea to apply for the internet connection at the same time as you apply for your landline telephone. Qtel will provide you with a password and a user name, and will also install the necessary software onto your computer, so make sure you have your computer available when they come to install the internet. ISDN and ADSL are also available. There is a new high speed ADSL service (called barQ ADSL) with the following package options: 256 Kbps (five times faster than normal dial-up), which costs QR 200 per month; 512 Kbps (10 times faster) which costs QR 300; and 1 Mbps (20 times faster!) which costs QR 400.

If you subscribe to the new barQ ADSL for a year, you will receive a free modem and free installation, which will save you about QR 500. If you want to upgrade your current ADSL speed, you can submit an ADSL application form to any of the Qtel customer service centres.

It is possible to access the internet without subscribing to any of the above packages, as prepaid dial-up cards (known as Ebhar) can be bought from any of the Qtel customer service centres and a number of shops and supermarkets. These allow users to access the net by plugging a computer into any telephone line - time online is deducted from the prepaid card and not charged to the phone line.

A further option is 161 Instant Internet. Without the need for a subscription, usernames, passwords or special equipment, users simply plug into any phone line and dial 161 from their computer. Surfing on 161 is charged at QR 6 per hour and will appear on the phone bill at the end of the month.

Qtel Wi-Fi HotSpots are cropping up all over the place, mainly in hotels and cafes. Customers with a wireless-enabled laptop, PDA or mobile can buy prepaid HotSpot cards in denominations of QR 30, 50, and 70, allowing them to get online without any wires.

There are several internet cafes scattered around Doha too. They charge around QR 6 per hour. You can also get 10 minutes free internet access at the main post office.

For details of Qtel's internet packages and up to date charges, and for a current list of HotSpot Wi-Fi locations, visit www.qtel.com.qa.

Phone bills are paid on a monthly basis in Qatar. You can pay your bills at certain banks (some offer facilities such as telephone banking and direct debit), the Post Office, and Qtel customer service centres. If you miss a bill payment, you will be barred from making any calls until your bill has been settled. Call 146 for bill enquiries.

You will be able to find the Post Office without too much effort. On Doha's corniche, it is a large building with lots of small arches all around the outside. It has a four-level car park that you have to drive through to get to the main entrance. When you enter the car park, drive straight up the ramps until you reach the top and you will find the entrance into the building on the left-hand side.

There are no postmen in Qatar like there are in European countries, but they have recently launched a new delivery service (QPP) for the delivery and collection of important documents. The documents are tracked through all stages of handling and confirmation of delivery is done on the internet.

Post office boxes can be obtained from any post office branch. You need to complete an application form, attach a copy of your ID card and pay the subscription fee. Once this is processed, a box number will be allocated to you. If you apply to the head office you will be given an electronic card to access your box, other branches use keys. The rental costs for the electronic boxes are:

     Small box QR 205 and QR 145 for renewal

     Medium box QR 235 and QR 175 for renewal

     Large box QR 315 and QR 255 for renewal

Electronic cards will cost QR 60 extra, which you pay when you first get your post box.

For other branches (non-electronic) you are given three keys at a cost of QR 60. The rental costs for these boxes are:

     Medium box QR 165 and QR 105 for renewal

     Large box QR 180 and QR 120 for renewal

Post seems to arrive fairly speedily, although during Ramadan it may take a little longer and during Eid the Post Office will be closed completely.

There are two television channels operated by QatarTelevision - Channel One, which is in Arabic and Channel Two, which is mostly in English.

Qtel offers cable television (Qatar Cablevision) which supplies all available networks with one decoder. The MVDS system has a range of programs suitable for both English and Arabic viewers. This system has many channels, including Star, Orbit, ART and Showtime. The other package from Qatar Cablevision is the Combo, which means you can watch all the free satellite channels, together with the MVDS channels, on one decoder. Most ex pats subscribe to one of these networks. You can subscribe to any of the networks through a number of companies.

Orbit offers a wide range of channels, including BBC Prime, America Plus, movie channels, news channels, ESPN, children's channels and many more. They often have promotions which include a free dish, decoder and installation, so check the local press for the latest offers, or visit the Orbit website (www.orbitnet.com). Packages start at QR 129 per month.

Showtime offers a huge selection of channels to suit the whole family. There's sport, news, current programmes, movies and children's channels. Packages start from QR 126 per month. You can subscribe to all the channels for only QR 220 definitely an option worth looking at.

ART is great for sports and also has a number of English channels. Star has a few English channels, but caters mostly to the Asian community. Channels from all four satellite networks are available on cable vision. There are a number of packages to choose from, starting at QR 60 per month, with the most expensive being QR 110. You can subscribe to as many packages as you want. If you were to subscribe to all the channels, it would cost you about QR 495 per month.

The renowned South African satellite 1V option, DS1V, is available, but is not strictly legal. It will cost you about QR 5,000 for the first year and then QR 1,500 every year for a new card. Many ex pats use this option as it has an amazing selection of sports channels. Hot Bird is also available for a one-time payment of QR 650. However, it does not have many English channels.

Satellite/Cable Providers
Gulf Security	4673845
National	4417575
Orbit	4477177
Qatar Communications	4320075
Qatar Multitech	4353513
Showtime	www.showtimearabia.com
Tradtech	4410060