Qatar to invest $500m in FTTH network

Qatar's telecoms regulator, ictQatar, has outlined an ambitious plan to expand the country's ICT sector in the next five years, including a commitment to invest $500 million to accelerate the deployment of a nationwide fibre-to-the-home broadband network.

Under Qatar's "Digital Agenda", the country intends to double the ICT sector's contribution to the country's GDP to $3 billion by 2015, double the ICT workforce to 40,000 people, and achieve "ubiquitous" high-speed broadband access for 95% of households and businesses.

Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar's Heir Apparent and chairman of ictQatar, said that several programmes outlined in the ICT plan are "strategically vital" for Qatar's development. "Over the next five years we will build a world-class ICT infrastructure with the capacity and speeds that set us apart in the region," he said.

ictQatar said in a statement that Qatar's Digital Agenda was designed to create a knowledge-based economy that will "drive sustainable development and societal benefits for all".

"By 2015, Qatar will be benefiting from ICT solutions in key aspects of its society and economy. It will also be using ICT to become further integrated into the global economy,' the regulator added.