Qatar National Broadband Company Established

Qatar’s government establishes new company to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide high-speed, open and accessible broadband Fiber to the Home network.

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) announced on March 28, 2011 that Qatar’s government has established a new company - Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN) – with a mandate to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide, open, and accessible high-speed broadband Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network.

Q.NBN will provide fiber access to citizens and businesses across Qatar, achieving coverage targets in excess of 95 percent by 2015. The resulting high-speed broadband connectivity will enable the effective use of multimedia and communications applications that are central to developing Qatar’s knowledge economy.
“The Qatar National Broadband Network represents a bold step forward in Qatar’s drive to be a leading knowledge economy. Ubiquitous access to a high-speed network is essential to business development, economic growth, innovation and enhanced government services for our citizens. This network will do more than connect Qatar to the world; it will truly help enrich the lives of those who live here,” said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, Secretary General, ictQATAR.

Q.NBN will focus solely on the deployment of a passive network infrastructure, efficiently leveraging existing and new infrastructure in Qatar. This government-led initiative was developed in consultation with existing network operators, Qtel and Vodafone, and will support the development of their broadband service offerings to government, enterprises, and consumers. The government support will help ensure rapid deployment and seamless access in a competitive manner.

Q.NBN is a fully independent company operating within the existing laws and under license conditions issued by ictQATAR.

ictQATAR is planning a range of initiatives to drive demand and uptake for broadband in the country. Among these initiatives is the fostering of a digital content ecosystem that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship including national digitization and cloud computing for government, enterprises and individuals. Also, ictQATAR is leading numerous ICT initiatives across the government and promoting ICT adoption in education, healthcare and businesses, as well as implementing programs to enhance e-skills and digital literacy in Qatar.