Qtel, one of the two major telecoms providers in Qatar (the other being Vodafone Qatar), has started connecting its customers to the country’s new fibre-based broadband network.

In the past few months, Qtel’s field teams have laid out over 1,200 kilometres of fibre cable throughout the capital city of Doha, capable of connecting more than 60,000 homes.

So far, around 2,000 homes are believed to have been connected by Qtel, enabling them to receive high-speed Internet access and high-definition content on its IPTV service ‘Qtel Mozaic TV’.

After initial work in the West Bay Lagoon area, there are now Qtel teams working in parts of the Al Kharatiyat and Al Waab areas of Doha, with plans to move into new districts in the coming months.

Residences which are eligible to be connected to the Qtel Fibre network are being leafleted to ensure they know to expect a visit from the Fibre Team.

The Qatari government has appointed the Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN) to oversee the contraction of an open-access fibre broadband network which will provide very high-speed broadband services to 95 per cent of households and 100 per cent of businesses in the country by 2015.

Both Qtel and Vodafone Qatar have signed agreements with Q.NBN to participate in the project, and Qtel has already committed itself to investing QAR 600mn ($ 165mn) in the network.

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