International communications company Ooredoo is rapidly positioning itself as the leader in providing fibre services in the developing world, as the company sees new opportunities in emerging markets.
The company is pursuing first-mover advantage in countries that are seeking the economic benefits delivered by improved broadband infrastructure, which include job creation, increased household income and permanent increases in GDP.
Given the company’s global footprint – which includes dynamic markets pushing to enhance their national networks – and its strong track record in fixed line services, Ooredoo believes that the importance of Fibre in its portfolio will accelerate in the coming years.
Qatar, where Ooredoo has its headquarters, has emerged as a leading fibre nation. In a global study based on figures from the FTTH Council, Qatar saw the fastest nationwide roll-out of Fibre in the world in 2012, judged by the percentage of homes passed by fibre (32 percent of total houses) and the number of homes connected in the year (14.3 percent).
The study, which was published by research group Arthur D. Little (ADL) in its new report, “National Fibre Strategies: National economic imperative or just another private industry task?” highlights the factors that enabled Qatar to take pole position.
Qatar currently enjoys one of the highest penetration rates for fibre in the world. The figures recorded by Qatar exceeded the progress of nations like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, and Ooredoo has played a key role in delivering fibre in the fastest possible time.
Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, explains Ooredoo’s global fibre strategy: “We’re very focused on offering our customers a broader range of services as cost effectively as possible, and fibre plays a big part in that. In particular, we see significant potential in delivering business services over fibre, and enabling business customers to deploy fibre to their advantage. With the pace of business speeding up in Asia and the MENA region, we think that fibre can offer an essential strategic advantage.”
In Indonesia, Ooredoo’s Indosat operation is offering a range of services for the enterprise sector that are enabled through a fibre backbone, including IP MPLS and Virtual Private Networks. The company has seen strong growth in the dynamic financial sector in particular, providing fibre based services to HSBC, Citibank, Bank Mandiri and other leading institutions.
A similar business focus is being taken in Oman, where Nawras is offering special bundles of fibre, fixed wireless and mobile broadband services to meet the needs of the country’s business sector.
In Tunisia, the company intends to roll out fibre in business districts, offering high-speed connectivity to leading companies.
For some emerging nations, the process of upgrading from copper-based networks to whole fibre or mainly fibre networks is increasingly important, not only to boost local competitiveness, but also to support the micro layer of the latest mobile backhaul networks. Partnership with international companies like Ooredoo, which have a track record of network development, is enabling these nations to roll-out fibre faster and more effectively.
“There are a number of different models for the roll-out of nationwide fibre networks, including national state-led projects and roll-outs driven by the private sector. We are fortunate that Ooredoo has worked within a number of different frameworks to deliver fibre, and a wide range of terrains and geographies, from Indonesia up to North Africa. This depth of experience is helping to make Ooredoo a global leader in fibre provision.”
About Ooredoo
Ooredoo is a leading international communications company delivering mobile, fixed, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of consumers and businesses across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and South-East Asia. As a community-focused company, Ooredoo is guided by its vision of enriching people’s lives and its belief that it can stimulate human growth by leveraging communications to help people achieve their full potential. Ooredoo has a presence in markets such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, the Maldives and Indonesia. The company reported revenues of $9.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2012 and had a consolidated global customer base of more than 92.9 million people as of 31 December 2012. Ooredoo’s shares are listed on the Qatar Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
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