Keeping Qatar connected

As the country gears up to get back to business after the summer, for those of us returning to Doha or arriving for the first time, the investment in roads, rail and physical infrastructure that will help keep modern Qatar moving is inescapable. But in the pipes, ducts and network pylons in the desert, Vodafone has been working tirelessly on less obvious but equally critical investments that will underpin Qatar’s continued economic growth and success.
 Cast your mind back to 2009, when Vodafone was first invited to come to Qatar by Qatar Foundation, and to create a joint venture which became Vodafone Qatar in order to help drive competition, innovation and consumer choice in the country’s telecoms market. At that time, the iPhone was just two years old – most business customers were still using Blackberries – and not everyone had a smartphone. Twitter was not much older, WhatsApp had just started out, and Instagram, Snapchat and Uber had not yet launched.
 The world, and Qatar, look very different today. Most waking minutes, our lives are touched by mobile technology. And largely they are made better for being connected. Now, smart phones and social media usage are rife across the Gulf, and Qatar is considered to have amongst the highest smart phone penetration rates of anywhere in the world, as high as 95% of the population according to a study conducted by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q).
 These seismic changes in how we communicate and connect with one another, whether through data heavy applications or by sharing video, have evidently put huge pressure on telecoms networks. From a network engineer’s perspective, it has felt like running hard to stand still.
However, having invested almost QR1bn  over the past 24 months to improve our network coverage and performance, we are confident our customers are now reaping the benefits. Our 3G and 4G network coverage covers not only urban and rural areas, but even expands into the desert where it enables customers to stay connected during their camping weekends or dune excursions.
We have further increased capacity, which has produced a significantly better customer experience on both voice and data services. We now have more than 150 cell sites dedicated to in-building solutions providing fantastic coverage and data speeds in shopping malls, hotels, and hospitals as well as residential buildings and towers around the country.
Nowadays, our network strength enables us to provide a world-class customer experience, which compares favourably to that which Vodafone customers enjoy in London, Cairo or Mumbai. That means fast connection speeds, great mobile coverage, and unparalleled access to video, social media and music streaming. Don’t take our word for it: an independent network test by consultants P3 conducted in 2016 showed that Vodafone’s network was the best performing in Qatar for mobile voice and data combined. But standing still is not an option. As the sole representatives from Qatar on global telecoms industry steering groups for 5G standards, we are already thinking about how we can bring that technology to bear in Qatar.
Being part of one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world – Vodafone Group Plc – has been crucial to our success in achieving this. It means we are able to bring the best technology to Qatar to empower people to make better connections. We will not spare any effort to maintain the momentum we have built up, and to invest in further improving the quality and capacity of our network.
At the same time, given our majority shareholder is Qatar Foundation, we combine the best that Vodafone Group can bring in terms of global innovation with a keen interest in reinvesting in and creating value for the State of Qatar. It takes deep pockets and unwavering commitment to invest on this scale and to meet the network challenges that arise from this explosion in data usage.
Telecoms operators are well placed to act as catalysts for transformation in a fast-changing digital society. But before they can take advantage of changing customer needs, they must decide where they want to play - and then focus rigorously on developing the strategies, technologies and talent that are prerequisites for success. We don’t have a crystal ball to predict the next Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat or Uber.
But we are determined that whatever Qatar’s future network needs, we will be there to connect people and businesses, enabling them to benefit by making the most of these new technologies.

Most waking minutes, our lives are touched by mobile technology

*Ramy Boctor is chief technology officer, Vodafone Qatar.