Qatar offers cheapest broadband in Gulf - study

ON LINE: Qatar offers the cheapest broadband in the Gulf region, according to a new study. (Getty Images)

One of the most comprehensive studies of broadband communications ever conducted in the GCC region has revealed that Qatar offers the cheapest prices - between 10-23 percent lower than that of the average of other Gulf nations.

Telecoms giant Qtel said the study, by international management consulting firm Arthur D. Little, showed the success of its “Broadband Qatar” strategy, which aims to provide affordable, high speed internet connectivity to as many people as possible in the Gulf state.

Thomas Kuruvilla, managing director, Arthur D. Little Middle East, said: “Qatar is making very important steps towards its goal of providing high speed broadband to residents and businesses at affordable rates.

"Our study suggests that current pricing is as much as 23 percent less than other GCC nations.”

The study results come just weeks after the chief executive of telecom firm Du, Osman Sultan, said broadband pricing in Arabic countries needed to fall to match the cost of the service in the US and Europe.

He called for more competition in the region in a bid to lower the price to customers.

Broadband consumers in the US pay an average of $16 per megabit per second of download speed, much lower than the $46 average in the Middle East and Africa, according to UK analyst firm Point Topic.

Adel Al Mutawa, executive director of Group Communications, Qtel, added: “The study provides important independent validation of Qtel’s success in extending broadband services across Qatar and also helps us better understand the challenges ahead.”

A 2008 study by Arab Advisors Group confirmed that, by the end of 2007, fixed line broadband penetration as a percentage of the total population was the highest in Qatar for any nation in the Arab world.

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