Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN) has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Vodafone Qatar to support the government’s plan to build a nationwide fibre broadband network. The HoA is the first step to define a framework through which the two organisations can work together to realise the Qatari Government’s goal of bringing high speed broadband services to 95 per cent of households, the government and businesses in Qatar by 2015.

The new fibre network, to be built by Q.NBN, will accelerate fibre penetration to homes and businesses in Qatar, thus enabling consumers to have access to the next generation of broadband services in Qatar such as IPTV and have more choice.

"Building a national broadband network in Qatar requires the close collaboration of all stakeholders. Vodafone’s commitment to work with Q.NBN on this important national initiative is a sign of their shared commitment to advancing our society and ensuring the benefits of broadband reach everyone in Qatar. I look forward to working with Vodafone to reach the final agreement over the coming months and move forward to make Qatar a truly connected nation," said Mohamed Al Mannai, Q.NBN chief executive officer.

Under the agreement, Vodafone would be able to use Q.NBN telecom infrastructure to construct its planned fibre backbone network. Vodafone would also partner with Q.NBN on many aspects, including rolling out fibre in new developments, setting technical standards and customer migration.

"Vodafone is very pleased to partner with Q.NBN in order to bring ‘super-fast’ fixed line broadband and calling to homes and offices everywhere in Qatar. Replacing copper telephone lines with fibre as the ‘last mile’ into the home will unleash the power of the worldwide web, and having Q.NBN wholesaling this last mile to both Vodafone and Qtel will ensure affordability and choice for consumers", said John Tombleson, acting CEO of Vodafone Qatar.

Q.NBN is a fully independent company with the government mandate to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide, open, and accessible high-speed broadband ‘fibre to the home’ (FTTH) network. The resulting high-speed broadband connectivity will enable the effective use of multimedia and communications applications that are central to developing Qatar’s knowledge economy. Q.NBN will focus solely on the deployment of a passive network infrastructure, efficiently leveraging existing and new infrastructure in Qatar. It operates under license conditions issued by ictQATAR.