Guidelines
CITRA is keen to urge website owners to comply with the laws and regulations related to e-content, which must be consistent with the laws governing Internet access the State of Kuwait. Therefore, CITRA provides some guidance to webmasters, developers, operators and managers in order to avoid blocking their websites.
These guidelines include:
- Ensure that the website does not violate any of the laws and regulations enforced in the State of Kuwait.
- Ensure that the site has an effective mechanism to help users access to site management when needed.
- Ensure a clear privacy policy specifying the information that will be collected, as well as why and how this information will be used.
- Ensure that sensitive user data is collected and processed in a secure manner.
- Ensure the use of antivirus software and following the best practices in management and operations.
Guidelines for sites with user-contributed content:
- Identify and post the Abuse Policy and Content Guidelines.
- Allow visitors to point or report abuse through a simple electronic form.
Site-specific guidelines for placing ads or offers by third parties or partners:
- Ensure that all ads comply with relevant laws and regulations such as medical advertising.
- Monitor and prevent abuse and illegal activities and the sale of illegal goods or services.
Global site guidelines:
- Place filters for explicit materials so visitors can activate or disable them.
- Isolate the explicit content from the rest of the general content, such as the use of the phrase "for adults only".
- Ensure that search results are filtered and are free of any prohibited content.
- Preventing access to infringing materials in accordance with the laws in force in Kuwait and by placing the slogan "This content is not available in your country".
- Use content classification system to isolate adult content, the site must prevent access to these materials in the State of Kuwait.
- The site should provide an effective and easy mechanism for users to report any violations that may occur directly onto the site.
- Abusive accounts must be disabled by identifying a means of communication to assist the competent authorities in performing their role.
- A clear policy should be published to protect the privacy of the user, indicating the information collected, how to process it, and how to make it available to the public.
- Request only user information required to provide the service.
- Ensure the confidentiality of users' information and saving them using appropriate techniques.
- Refrain from collecting addresses and details of visitors' information for the purpose of selling or publishing.
- The site owner must cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies in case of crimes or violations.
Decisions
This page contains the decisions issued by CITRA responsible of developing the ICT services in Kuwait that are required by the comprehensive development of the country.
Strategies/Policies
CITRA is committed to achieving the highest standards of quality, health and environment through the application of global standards in internal activities and customer-based processes. This includes the need to manage energy consumption, control waste, reduce pollution and prevent injury or ill health.
Therefore, in the State of Kuwait, CITRA is committed to inform its employees of this policy and standards in order for it to be clear to any external party associated with the authority such as the public, contractors, suppliers and visitors.
It is the responsibility of CITRA to identify to its staff the guidance and policy to be followed to achieve the quality system, including:
- Participate in any activities related to the HSE system, including any mock training for emergencies.
- Immediately report any unsafe conditions to their superiors or representatives of the HSE system.
- Not to risk in a manner that may affect the environment and/or their occupational health and safety or others.
- Responsible energy, water and paper consumption.
National ICT Strategy
Cell Tower Regulations
CITRA is the sole authority for setting and regulating standards for the installation and operation of cell towers in Kuwait. These standards are placed to ensure the public’s health and safety from cell-tower related matters, including setting and monitoring of safe emissions of electromagnetic radiation.
Primary objectives:
- Protecting the public from harmful levels of electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions resulting from radio frequencies (RF).
- Ensuring that license owners and operators in the State of Kuwait are installing and operating cell towers and RF equipment in full compliance with Ministry of Health regulations and exposure limitations of EMF emissions.
- Setting high-quality technical standards to building cell towers, their locations and connections to the infrastructure.
- Ensuring the concerned authorities are informed and consulted before releasing any radio devices.
- Ensuring compatibility of cell towers in retrospect to the environment and terrain of the State of Kuwait.
Numbering Plan
As a regulatory body, CITRA oversees and manages the National Numbering Plan to ensure the process of booking a number and allocating it or cancelling its allocation is a fair and transparent process, providing equal opportunities for competition. For regulating the use of numbering resources, CITRA is required to ensure the efficient and optimal use of the limited resources as well as refrain from imposing unnecessary operational restrictions on service providers.
The purpose of this plan is to ensure a systematic approach to booking and allocating numbers as well as cancellations of allocated numbers, in compliance with industry best practices.
The plan also aims to achieve the following:
- Provide number domains sufficient to run all the different service packages.
- Harmonic numbering system that is easy for subscribers to understand.
- Efficiency in the managing number domains on a fair and equitable basis amongst providers.
- Consistency in the use of specific number domains for specific purposes, so that the participants are aware of the type of service they use and the potential cost.
- Reduce the consumption of current numbering resources for the benefit of long term sustainability of the country’s numbering policy.
Number Portability
CITRA regulates the deployment and use of all numbering platforms. The numbering platforms offered and regulated by CITRA are as follows:
- Three-digit numbers: for service call centers and emergency services.
- The 800 service numbers: a seven-digit platform dedicated for commercial switchboards.
- Domain numbers: an eight-digit platform offering lines in the multiples of 100 to be deployed for direct calls and service switches.
Frequency Spectrum Management
Frequency Spectrum is a natural resource that can be used to provide various telecommunications services including personal and public communication, aeronautical, maritime, navigation, radio and search and rescue communication as well as radio geolocations. Spectrum management is a set of technical and administrative procedures necessary to ensure orderly and efficient operations of various radio communication services in the country, in accordance with relevant international and regional agreements.
The following is the set of regulations governing frequency spectrums
- The National Frequency Spectrum Table
- Fees for frequency spectrum usage
- Planning and allocation of frequency spectrum
- Radio frequency interference
- Technical monitoring of radio frequency spectrum
- Radio licensing
- Amateur radio service licensing
Type Approval
Each country operates a different telecommunications network and some telecommunications equipment can be safely used in one country, but not in another. Type Approval is the process of determining and registering the type of equipment that may be brought and used in the State of Kuwait without causing interference or long or short-term damage to the network.
Getting Type Approval also facilitates the customs clearance process of devices intended for non-commercial use in addition to regulating the importation and sale of communications equipment in the country. The process also verifies the products by previously approved manufacturers and suppliers.
Interconnection
Interconnection is the connection between the service provider's own networks or another service provider’s networks to enable users of different service providers to communicate with each other.
