Qtel Lays Over 300kms of Fibre Network

Doha, February 16 (QNA) - Telecom operator Qtel has laid over 300 kilometres of fibre network as part of its Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) project replacing the existing copper network in Doha.
Ongoing user trials of the FTTH project, launched March 2010 with an investment of QR 600 million, have been successful, the company said in its bulletin.
Qtel expects to offer fibre-based services to its customers by mid 2011 including high-speed Internet, high-definition television, and advanced services such as movies and video-on-demand.
Qtel is working with enterprises across Qatar to upgrade technology for a seamless transition to fibre. Its clients would be able to deploy new services and applications using advanced fibre network backed by its Data Centre and its dedicated solutions.
The company is working with the country's educational institutions so that schools, colleges and universities can use the new fibre network to its full extent in promoting research and development within Qatar.
As part of the FTTH programme, existing connections over copper will be replaced with high-speed fibre connections.
It is the largest infrastructure project of its kind ever carried out by Qtel, with major upgrades on the network backbone and supporting systems currently being completed.
When completed, Qtel s fibre network will be the most advanced in the region, and will help support the wider Vision 2030 for Qatar, which aims to transform Qatar by boosting the knowledge-based economy.
For customers who have been involved in the testing of products fuelled by fibre, the experience has been an incredible transformation of the way they experience faster-than-ever Internet speeds, enabling them to download huge volumes of data, including songs and movies in a few seconds.