The first trial phase of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) in Qatar has been a great success with high levels of customer satisfaction recorded across the pilot group, Qtel said.

Qtel has been conducting user trials in more than 1,000 homes in the West Bay and Mesaieed areas of Doha, to test the service and ensure stability and reliability for customers.

Participants in the trial phase have received high-speed Broadband Internet, high definition digital television and crystal clear landline telephone services, it said.

The FTTH programme was announced in March 2010, with an investment of approximately QR600 million allocated to ensure a smooth transition across most of the country.

As part of the FTTH programme, existing connections over copper cables are being replaced with high-speed fibre connections. Early results from the trial phase have been extremely positive, with high customer satisfaction levels, and high speed internet access levels recorded across the entire test region.

With the first phase of the trials completed and a major success, Qtel is now set and ready to begin the commercial roll-out of the service in the first half of 2011. Qtel will be the first and only company to bring this advanced technology to residential and business customers, for the best-ever Internet experience in Qatar, it said.

The programme is the largest infrastructure project of its kind ever carried out by Qtel, with hundreds of kilometres of fibre already deployed to support the trials. Backbone and supporting systems are being upgraded to provide a seamless offering of enhanced services to the customer.

To date, more than 20 central switches in the Doha area have been upgraded to support the new fibre technology.

“Qtel’s new fibre network will fuel an important range of business benefits for companies across Qatar. Advanced bandwidth capacity will support new business applications and advanced enterprise software seamlessly, enabling companies to continue to upgrade to more advanced software easily. Small businesses in particular will benefit from some of the fastest Internet speeds in the region,” the company said. 

The upgraded fibre network will also have important implications for education in Qatar, providing residents, schools and universities with ultra-fast links to a world of research and new data, and making a significant contribution to the long-term goal of building the knowledge-based economy in Qatar. – TradeArabia News Service