By 2016, 95% of households in Qatar shall have the ability to access affordable and high-quality broadband service of at least 100 Mbps for downloads and 50 Mbps for uploads

Qatar aims to become the best-connected country in the world and a leader in innovative digital economy, HE the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Dr Hessa al-Jaber told a world conference yesterday.

Delivering Qatar’s Connect 2020 ICT Policy Statement at the International Telecommunication Union’s 19th Plenipotentiary Conference, PP 14, in Busan, South Korea, Dr al-Jaber said: “As a nation, we can’t think of a more important goal than inclusiveness and ensuring that all people reap the benefits from ICT, regardless of their age, gender, income, location or abilities.

“For several years now, a host of ICT training programmes – targeted to women, low-skilled workers, people with disabilities, and the elderly – have been successfully under way.”

Dr al-Jaber highlighted the milestones of Qatar’s ICT sector and  goals for the next few years. She emphasised continuing ICT sector development efforts, enlarging the sector’s contribution to the GDP and to sustainable development through digital inclusion, innovation, entrepreneurship and the delivery of ICT benefits to everyone.

“Our presence here affirms our commitment to a future where people everywhere can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge to achieve their full potential as well as fuel our economies. Qatar is well positioned for that future,” said  Dr al-Jaber, referring to Qatar’s high rankings in recent World Economic Forum reports and Qatari research studies that say Internet penetration among households and individuals has reached near universal levels, plus the 4G LTE technology countrywide, 185% mobile penetration and high-speed fibre connecting around 85% of the homes in Qatar.

By 2016, 95% of households shall have the ability to access affordable and high-quality broadband service of at least 100 Mbps for downloads and 50 Mbps for uploads. Broadband is the basis to achieve the Connect 2020 Vision.

To guarantee and facilitate the growth of e-business, by 2016, iPv6 will be fully operational throughout the country.  By 2016, 90% of government services will be made available online through Qatar’s enhanced e-government portal.

The minister  talked about youth as the main translators of this policy into reality, saying: “We know that our youth will propel Qatar forward into the future. To equip them with the advanced 21st century skills they need to be the future leaders of the sector, we have recently initiated a new programme, the goal of which is to train our nation’s young people in advanced skills such as cloud computing, big data analysis, coding, and media literacy.”

She also highlighted the role ictQATAR’s Digital Incubation Centre plays in helping young entrepreneurs and startups to move on and advance from starting up to boosting their businesses to reach real market success.

Wrapping up her speech,  Dr al-Jaber invited the audience to the ITU Telecom World 2014 that will be held in Qatar under the theme of “Future in Focus”, providing an important update on how new developments in ICT are transforming our lives.

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