Customers of Qatar Telecom (Qtel) are receiving some of the most advanced Internet services in the Middle East following the first phase of Qtel's nationwide, Public IP Infrastructure program.
Qtel is now offering its industrial, government and residential customers a variety of next-generation services using a converged network architecture and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology from Cisco Systems. This is one of the first projects of its kind for a Middle East Telco, and highlights how carriers are developing their services to support local industry with world class Internet connectivity.
Qtel's Public IP Infrastructure project is an ongoing initiative undertaken to support the needs of business and Government. It will be capable of offering MPLS VPNs for industry and broadband Internet for businesses and residences. The current phase provides these services using xDSL and Ethernet (ETTx) access and will eventually be expanded to include nation-wide ETTx coverage, wireless and eventually Integrated Voice and Video Services Over IP.
Based on a single, converged and scalable IP MPLS backbone, and as it expands in the future, Qtel will be able to offer its customers, including hundreds of businesses, thousands of residences and every Government Ministry, an increasing range of next-generation services.
The unified Cisco core means Qtel can scale efficiently because of its distributed aggregation capability, which offers the possibility to aggregate ETTX type access out of the same POPs and over the same backbone.
Qtel is the exclusive telecommunications provider in Qatar until 2013 and is one of the largest public companies in the country with 1,700 employees. It was successfully launched on the Doha Securities Market (DSM), Abu Dhabi and Bahrain stock markets in 1998. Qtel provides a range of telecommunications products including national, international, mobile GSM, Internet and cable television services. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
