Qtel (short for Qatar Telecom) used to be the exclusive telecommunications provider in Qatar and is one of the largest public companies in Qatar with about 2000 employees. It was successfully launched on the Doha Securities Market in 1998 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1999, the Bahrain Stock Exchange in 2001 and the Abu Dhabi Securities Market in 2002. Qtel is a winner of the 2005 Gulf Excellence Award and the 2006 Economic Award.

Qtel also provides mobile telephone services in Oman via Nawras, a joint venture with TDC and Omani partners. Qtel is the prestige partner of, and official telecommunications provider to, the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006.

In October 2006 Qtel and Korea Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding toward the two telecommunications providers working together in Qatar on infrastructure construction and IT solution delivery for what has been coined 'Ubiquitous Cities' (U-City).

In November 2006 Qtel announced an agreement to acquire a strategic stake in NavLink, a leading provider of managed data services to businesses in the Middle East. Qtel will hold an equity stake (38.2%) in the business, joining AT&T Inc.

In November 2006, The Emir issued Law No 34 of 2006 restructuring the administration of information and communication systems in Qatar and lifting Qtel's monopoly; ictQATAR was announced as the new telecoms regulator.

Towards the end of 2007, Qtel announced the launching of a new company named wi-tribe. wi-tribe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Telecom (Qtel). Through wi-tribe, Qtel plans to launch wireless broadband internet services across Asia and Africa. The first wi-tribe deployment was in Jordan and was launched end of Q2 2008. Further deployments in Pakistan, the largest operation for the group, were launched in July 2009. wi-tribe Philippines was made available on February 2010.

In February 2008, Qtel announced its fourth quarter net profit fell 9.6 percent due to a one-off amortisation impact associated with its March purchase of Kuwait's Wataniya. The business now plans to sell stock to existing shareholders to raise about 5.86 billion riyals, to pay back debt and finance growth including possible acquisitions.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2008, Qtel announced its intention to buy a 40% share in Indosat for US$ 1.8 billion from Temasek Holdings

In May 2011, Qtel became the first company in Qatar to reach internet trial speeds of 100 megabits per second.^[1]

Mission statement[link]

To be among the top 20 Telecommunication Companies in the world by 2020.

Services[link]

Qtel provides a range of telecommunications products including national and international, Wireline and mobile telephony. It also offers Internet and Data services, ADSL, Wi-Fi and Cable TV services. It provides fully commercial, Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based Global IPVN. Qtel runs and manages the Qatar Data Centre that hosts AT&T’s first global node (AGN) in the Middle East.

VOiP users may want to be aware that Qtel has blocked VoiP services in the past, and that Skype's website has been blocked from casual use in the past. In addition, Qtel uses content-control software to filter out websites they deem inappropriate to Qatari interests and morality.

New technologies[link]

Qtel introduced DVB-H service to the Middle East, delivering real-time “Mobile TV broadcast” that captures up to 13 channels like Al-Jazeera, CNN and CNBC through mobile handsets. It also introduced 3G mobile Internet & video calling, as well as the Triple Play. And during the Doha 2006 Games Qtel launched the Asian games mobile portal, bringing entertainment and information services related to the Asian games event.

Qtel has also implemented TETRA, Terrestrial Trunked Radio, which is a professional mobile radio system for small to large industrial entities and organizations. The service is used in sectors such as governmental, oil and gas, mining, sports events, police, defense, security, safety, paramedic, rescue and the private sector.

Qatar was the first country in the Middle East to introduce Digital Video Broadcasting.

Wikipedia controversy[link]

After a series of anonymous acts of Wikipedia vandalism and spam in December 2006, coming from the IP address of Qtel's proxy server, it was blocked from editing by a Wikipedia administrator. The block affected nearly the entire nation of Qatari Internet users, including those from news organization Al-Jazeera.

There was also a block on creating user accounts, meaning that people editing from Qtel had no way in which to edit Wikipedia at all, but eventually this condition was relaxed several hours later after the ban was widely reported across technology sites.^[2]

February 3, 2008 cable incident[link]

On February 3, 2008, Qtel reported that a cable connecting Qatar to the United Arab Emirates has been damaged, causing disruptions in already damaged Middle Eastern communication networks. It became the fourth cable to be damaged that week. ^[3] According to Egypt's transport ministry, there were no ships in the area.^[4] The problem is said to be related to the power system.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website