Qtel moves to plug gap in localised mobile content

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona: Qtel today announced plans to open a Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) office in Doha in a bid to boost the amount of locally produced content and applications for mobile devices.

The announcement builds on last year's agreement, when the Qatar-based telecom group joined the trade body for the mobile entertainment industry.

"We believe content and entertainment will be a key driver for our industry," Qtel CEO Dr Nasser Marafih said. "But there is a lack of localised content in our region and we need to start building it, and our partnership with the MEF will help us to do that." 

The aim is to build "a sustainable ecosystem and accelerate the growth of the mobile media industry" in the Middle East and North Africa, with the Qtel-sponsored office in Doha organising local MEF events where developers can swap ideas with partners.

So far Qtel is the only Middle East operator to have joined the MEF, but Marafih said content and applications developed by the group would be made available to other operators in the region.