Ooredoo has invested more than $1bn for its fibre optic technology and telecommunications infrastructure, including its “ultra-fast” Supernet network in the country, Ooredoo Qatar chief executive officer Waleed al-Sayed has said.
He said Ooredoo’s investments cover “core elements” such as the Ooredoo fibre-to-home programme, which was rolled-out in 2013, the ultra-fast Internet speed via the Ooredoo Supernet, and the high-speed 4G+ network.
“Our vision is to provide the latest and the best services to our customers through our Supernet network...we have spent more than $1bn in building the fibre-to-home and 4G+ network in Qatar, which has boost data speeds on fixed and wireless broadband to more than 300Mbps.
“And now it is time for us to provide the content for these fast and latest services,” al-Sayed told reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s launching of the new Ooredoo TV at Novo Cinemas in The Pearl.
According to al-Sayed, annual growth in the telecommunications industry is usually between 9% and 11%. Asked about Ooredoo’s growth in Qatar, he said the country is a “unique market,” and is “steadily growing.”
“We are making sure that we capture most of this growth despite competition in the market,” he stressed.
In Qatar, al-Sayed said Ooredoo is currently “number one in the competition in terms of entertainment.”
“We are aware that there is competition in the market that is why we are trying to provide the best for our customers. We believe, this early, as we launch Ooredoo TV, we will be able to achieve bigger growth in 2016, though it is still very early to say because we need to see the reaction of our customers,” he said.
On the growth of Mozaic TV subscribers in 2015, he said: “More than 50% of our fibre network customers are already equipped with ‘triple play’, which means that Mozaic (now Ooredoo TV) is part of the services they receive.”
Al-Sayed also expressed optimism that “free-to-air” and online services such as Netflix and Apple TV will not affect Ooredoo TV’s appeal and customer demand.
“We are not worried about competition because the titles that we have in our library are newer than those offered by Netflix and even Apple TV. In fact, competition is even pushing us further to provide better value-for-money services to our customers. If you compare Ooredoo TV with Netflix and other providers, you will see that we are providing the latest content, and much faster launch of new titles in Ooredoo TV,” he explained.
He added: “Most of our channels are encrypted and we are working closely with prominent networks worldwide. Free-to-air services will always be there just like any other type of competition. The horizon is now open to everybody...the best way to address competition is to provide a special and unique proposition that distinguishes your product to make it more relevant to customers.”