Vodafone Qatar eyes 5G expansion, ‘active role’ in Qatar’s digital transformation

Vodafone Qatar is investing heavily in the expansion of 5G and its capabilities across the country, as well as in enabling the digital transformation of key players in the country’s public and private sectors, an official has said.
Ramy Boctor, Vodafone Qatar’s chief technology officer, made the statement during a recently held media briefing at the company’s offices in Lusail city.
“We have our aspirations to play an active role in enabling digital transformation primarily for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or even for large organisations by capitalising on the deep technical know-how or technological know-how that we have in Vodafone Qatar.
“We also have access to a big ecosystem of technology partners who can work with us and offer a joint project, whether an SME or a large organisation or government entity. End to end, yes, we are paying a lot of attention; we are investing into digital transformation,” Boctor told Gulf Times.
Boctor also lauded the support and facilities being provided by the State to entrepreneurs in the country, particularly those specialising in technology-based startups.
Asked to give a brief outlook on the future and potential of Qatar’s tech startup ecosystem and the role that Vodafone could play in its growth and development, Boctor described the country as a “world-class environment for entrepreneurs.”
Citing the strong appetite and investment in Qatar’s tech startups, Boctor noted that Vodafone is “willing to invest” in initiatives that would promote the growth and development of the sector, which has a “high potential” and has been “successful, so far.”
Boctor emphasised that Vodafone Qatar is expanding in terms of 5G according to the needs of the market.
“We are also focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) applications and Internet of Things (IoT) because these are the two applications that will be used on top of 5G technology, which comes as an enabler for those technologies,” he explained.
Boctor also lauded Qatar for its “very advanced and modern infrastructure.” He stressed that Qatar is at the forefront of infrastructure readiness for applications like 5G, AI, and IoT compared to other markets.
“There is no legacy of old buildings in Qatar; most of the buildings are built with the latest and new standards, so it’s enabled and ready for those technologies,” Boctor noted, adding that parking lots in Qatar have enough infrastructure for 5G coverage and that penetration is high in terms of optical fibre footprint.
He added: “As an enabler, we expect lots of entrepreneurial activities to happen, enabling services like this. Some of them we anticipate, like autonomous driving, smart cities, and smart buildings. Some of it will come from very creative entrepreneurs. And Qatar is promoting this; encouraging entrepreneurs to come and build something new.”