UK-backed Vodafone Qatar has introduced its Global Machine to Machine (M2M) Platform and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to the local market, offering Qatari businesses a global M2M SIM card with worldwide roaming; an interactive portal for end users; secure solutions; access to more than 1,300 M2M experts; a broad portfolio of M2M terminals; application enablement/development/testing and deployment from a single supplier, all under a single contract. Particular areas of focus in Qatar include ‘smart city’ applications and the transportation sector as the country attempts to deal with its growing traffic problems. The Vodafone Group currently offers its M2M services to local customers in 40 countries.
Meanwhile, Ooredoo Qatar has unveiled sweeping ambitions to be ‘the leading integrated ICT provider in Qatar and the region’, aiming to fully transform its offering for businesses and government institutions, the Peninsula reports. To accomplish this vision, the company says it will become an ‘ICT innovation engine’ for Qatar, building best-in-class capabilities in-house while engaging with an ecosystem of innovative partners. The goal is to fundamentally transform the depth and range of ICT services offered to organisations and enterprises in Qatar and in the Gulf region. Waleed Al Sayed, CEO of Ooredoo Qatar, declared: ‘The moment is right for Ooredoo to take the quantum leap from its position as the leading [telecoms] operator in the country, to becoming the premier information technology company in Qatar and ultimately the region. IT and telecoms are converging around the world, and Ooredoo has partnerships with almost all of the world’s leading technology companies, supported by incredible infrastructure assets such as the Ooredoo Supernet [convergent high speed transmission network]. This means that we can provide a fully-integrated offering that is unmatched by any other company.’ Ooredoo adds that it is aiming to capitalise on its long-standing links with large and small companies and organisations across Qatar to create a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all ICT services, encompassing everything from connectivity to data centres, through to full system integration services, while it also says it will ‘help raise Qatar’s profile as a hub for innovation and ground-breaking technology, including becoming a world-reference for smart cities and in the rollout of IoT.’
Both Ooredoo and Vodafone stated that their latest initiatives in fields such as IoT, smart cities and integrated telecoms/ICT solutions, will support the Qatari government’s ‘Qatar National Vision 2030’ goals including knowledge-based economy targets.