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Qtel (short for Qatar Telecom) is 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.
Mission Statement
Qtel is working towards service excellence to become the best communications company in the region, striving to exceed the expectations of its customers, shareholders and employees alike.
Services
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, MPLS (Multiple Protocol Labeling System) 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 SmartFilter to filter out websites deemed "inappropriate to Qatari morality", though the meaning of this can apply to sites critical of the Qatari government, or innocent sites such as BoingBoing.
New Technologies
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 (telecommunications). 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.
Vandalism controversy
After a series of acts of Misplaced Pages vandalism and spam in December 2006, the IP address of Qtel's proxy server, 82.148.97.169, was blocked from making anonymous edits. At the time of the block, the address was not marked as a shared address. This affected nearly an entire nation of Internet users, including those from news organization Al-Jazeera. Account creation was also initially blocked, but this condition relaxed several hours later after the ban was widely reported across technology sites.
References
- Misplaced Pages Qatar ban 'temporary', BBC News, January 2, 2007.