Vodafone Qatar will be “one of the fastest adopters” of 5G service, CEO Ian Gray has said.
“At Vodafone Group, we are clearly in the lead in almost every new technology that has come up. Our R&D teams around the world are always working on almost everything. So, when it comes to 5G, of course we are,” he told Gulf Times yesterday.
Asked when he expected the roll out of 5G service in Qatar, Gray said: “We are not talking about any timeframe for 5G rollout in Qatar. No timeframe can be set… a date cannot be set because it (5G) is not at a stage that anyone can give you a date.”
When pointed out that many service providers were preparing the ground for launch of 5G service along with the proposed Internet of Things (IoT), the Vodafone Qatar CEO said: “We would agree. At VF, we will be amongst the earliest adopters in the world of 5G technology. You cannot do it until the equipment is available.”
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects — devices, vehicles, buildings and other items — embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.
5G or the fifth-generation wireless broadband technology will provide better speeds and coverage than the current 4G.
Gray pointed out the launch of 5G handsets might take some more time. 
“Go and ask any handset manufacturer as to when they will have their 5G handsets ready. It may take some more time. So, we will have 5G when the handsets are available.” 
He said the 5G technology was “not ready to come out in to the market”. 
“I am confident, as Vodafone Group, we will be one the first in the world to have 5G… and as Vodafone Qatar we will be one of the fastest adopters in the VF group.” 
He emphasised that Vodafone is an “important player in the global telecom market.”
“We benefit from a very high level concentration of technical expertise in the Vodafone Group. As Vodafone Qatar, we can rely on our friends and family in the rest of the VF Group around the world. That’s our strength.”
The Qatar market was “relatively stable”, Gray said when asked about Vodafone’s customer base. 
“But I cannot talk about any specific numbers because we are at the end of a quarter… we are a listed company, we do not talk anything about market share now.”
On whether Vodafone has reached saturation in terms of customer numbers in Qatar, Gray said: “You cannot have more customers than exists in the country. We see potential growth coming through the development of new services… and existing customers using data more. The price of data has come down- a long way. This allows people to use more data.” 
“It is not just basically about the internet, but the services you can get through the internet. So, existing customers are going to use more data. In addition to that, we are bringing in (the business area) more of managed services. Today, we offer the full range of services that are available anywhere to consumers — it is primarily through the data connection… through the internet.”  
Vodafone Qatar switched on its mobile network in March 2009 and started providing a range of products and services to customers shortly thereafter.  
Having built a converged IP network, Vodafone launched fibre-based consumer and enterprise fixed-line services commercially in October 2012.