Doha: Ooredoo is rapidly positioning itself as the leader in providing fibre services in the developing world, as the company sees new opportunities in emerging markets.
The company is pursuing first-mover advantage in countries that are seeking the economic benefits delivered by improved broadband infrastructure, which include job creation, increased household income and permanent increases in GDP.
Given the company’s global footprint — which includes its strong track record in fixed line services, Ooredoo believes that the importance of Fibre in its portfolio will accelerate in the coming years.
Qatar, where Ooredoo has its headquarters, has emerged as a leading fibre nation.
In a global study based on figures from the FTTH Council, Qatar saw the fastest nationwide roll-out of fibre in the world in 2012, judged by the percentage of homes passed by fibre (32 percent of total houses) and the number of homes connected in the year (14.3 percent).
The study, which was published by research group Arthur D Little (ADL) in its new report, “National Fibre Strategies: National economic imperative or just another private industry task?” highlights the factors that enabled Qatar to take pole position.
Qatar enjoys one of the highest penetration rates for fibre in the world.
The figures recorded by Qatar exceeded the progress of nations like Singapore and the UAE, and Ooredoo has played a key role in delivering fibre in the fastest possible time.
Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, explains Ooredoo’s global fibre strategy: “We’re very focused on offering our customers a broader range of services as cost effectively as possible, and fibre plays a big part in that. In particular, we see significant potential in delivering business services over fibre, and enabling business customers to deploy fibre to their advantage. With the pace of business speeding up in Asia and the Mena region, we think that fibre can offer an essential strategic advantage.”
In Indonesia, Ooredoo’ Indosat operation is offering a range of services for the enterprise sector that are enabled through a fibre backbone, including IP MPLS and Virtual Private Networks. The company has seen strong growth in the dynamic financial sector in particular since the launch of these services.
This business focus is matched in Oman, where Nawras is offering special bundles of fibre, fixed wireless and mobile broadband services to meet the needs of the country’s business sector.
Nawras is constructing a 3,000km fibre ring around Oman, to enhance backhaul redundancy and to deliver services to business and consumer customer segments.
In Tunisia, the company intends to roll out fibre in business districts, offering high-speed connectivity to leading companies.The Peninsula
