Vodafone Qatar announced yesterday that the company had been issued a licence by the Supreme Council of Information and Technology (ictQatar) to operate the country’s second fixed line telephone service. Initially, Vodafone Qatar will start operating at The Pearl-Qatar, after complying with the requirements of ictQatar, including changing its Articles of Association in the next three months and paying the licence fee of QR10m. The fixed line licence for Vodafone, which includes services for broadband Internet and landline phones, contains a further obligation to provide 100 percent coverage to the rest of Qatar. Vodafone Qatar is working closely with ictQatar and Qtel to use the proposed National Broadband Network to provide these services. The CEO of Vodafone Qatar, Grahame Maher, said the broadband and fixed line voice services at The Pearl-Qatar will be shared with the coverage of Qtel. He added, however, that residents can have the option to choose their service provider or even shift subscription from Qtel to Vodafone to avail of fixed line services. Asked about Lusail City as their next target for expansion, Maher said Vodafone still had to get approval from ictQatar. “The project plan will be completed in a month or two,” Maher told The Peninsula yesterday. Vodafone will launch its fixed line services at The Pearl-Qatar with high-speed broadband Internet services in the next three months and fixed line voice services within 12 months. Maher said they were looking forward to providing the fixed line services to some parts of Qatar by early next year. Services in the rest of the country will depend on the implementation of the National Broadband Network by ictQatar. “We are delighted to have been granted the fixed line licence,” Maher said. “We look forward to providing residents and businesses in Qatar with the full range of Vodafone Qatar’s products and services,” he added. Vodafone Qatar had earlier reached a partnership with United Development Company (UDC for the telecommunications company to provide total communication solutions to the man-made island. This partnership utilises UDC’s already deployed state-of-the-art infrastructure as well as Vodafone’s network at The Pearl-Qatar. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=May2010&file=Local_News2010050233128.xml

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