DOHA: Qtel officials said the first phase of Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) trial in Qatar, which has brought high speed Internet to homes across West Bay and Mesaieed, has been a huge success, with high levels of customer satisfaction recorded across the pilot areas.
Officials said early results from the trial phase have been extremely positive, with high customer satisfaction levels, and high speed Internet access levels recorded across the entire test region.
More than 1,000 homes in the West Bay and Mesaieed areas of Doha, were part of the test project.
Participants in the trial phase received high-speed Broadband Internet, high definition digital television and landline telephone services.
Qtel has invested some QR600m to ensure a smooth transition across most of the country.
The work began with existing connections over copper cables being replaced with high-speed fibre connections.
With the first phase gaining a noticeable success, Qtel is now set and ready to begin the commercial roll-out of the service in the first half of 2011.
To date, more than 20 central switches in the Doha area have been upgraded to support the new fibre technology.
The upgraded fibre network will also have important implications for education in Qatar, providing residents, schools and universities with ultra-fast links to a world of research and new data, and making a significant contribution to the long-term goal of building the knowledge-based economy in Qatar.
© The Peninsula 2011
