Ooredoo has launched its new Business Fibre broadband service, providing small and medium-sized businesses with “the country’s fastest-ever and most reliable connection to the Internet”.

Ooredoo said all its existing business customers would be able to enjoy “ultrafast broadband speeds that are five to 10 times faster than the existing copper wire connection – at no extra charge”.

“Small businesses now will be able to connect at speeds that were traditionally only available to large enterprises, helping to boost Qatar’s knowledge based economy,” a company release said.

The new service’s “faster speeds enable businesses to enhance their office productivity, transfer large files, and easily engage with their customers through social media,” the release said.

“Businesses will also be able to enhance their IT costs by moving their IT infrastructure to the Ooredoo Cloud virtual computing platform, delivering remote back up, and managed voice and support services.”

Ooredoo said it would automatically upgrade and connect all current ADSL broadband customers over the coming months. Once connected, existing customers on the 1 Mbps plan will be upgraded to 10 Mbps, 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps, and 4 Mbps to 40 Mbps. “Customers will be upgraded without paying any
extra monthly fees,” Ooredoo said.

“Thanks to unlimited usage on all these plans, business customers can use the Internet with the confidence of reliable connection speeds, and no unbudgeted expenses,” the release said.

To increase Internet accessibility around offices, business customers can also purchase additional Wi-Fi access points at QR800 per connection, including installation and with no ongoing fees.

Ooredoo is deploying Business Fibre on a zone-by-zone basis across Qatar in order to reach the greatest number of customers as possible. Ooredoo plans to connect all business customers by mid-2014.

“Rolling-out Business Fibre is the next step in Ooredoo’s masterplan of covering all homes and businesses in the inhabited areas of Qatar with fibre optic networks by the end of 2014,” according to the release.

Since 2012, the commercial rollout of Ooredoo Fibre, which has connected more than 60,000 homes, has enabled Qatar to claim the title of the world’s fastest fibre network rollout, according to a recent report from global management consulting firm Arthur D Little.

“For more information on Business Fibre, and for an up-to-date coverage map, customers can visit the Ooredoo Business Fibre page on the Ooredoo website at www.ooredoo.qa,” the release said.