Qatar plans to invest $0.55 Billion to pick up the pace of the national high-speed Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) broadband internet network.

The five-year program titled: “Qatar’s National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Plan 2015: Advancing the Digital Agenda”, was announced by His Highness, the Crown Prince of Qatar, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who is also the Chairman of ictQATAR’s Board of Directors.

Elaborating the plan, Sheikh Tamim said, “Our visionary leadership understood that an advanced ICT sector was crucial to an innovative, diversified economy and high standard of living for all our people.”

Sheikh Tamim further asserted the country’s ambition to build a world-class ICT infrastructure, with includes plans to build and launch a communications satellite in collaboration with the European firm Eutelsat Communications by 2013.

In essence the five-year ICT plan aims to boost Qatar’s high speed broadband access by 95%, and create 160 online accessible government services. The project calls for a vehement increase of 90% in internet penetration, with renewed focus on enhancing connectivity, increasing capacity, fostering economic development, augmenting public service delivery and advancing collective benefits.

The 46-page ictQATAR report not only forecasts the future, but also accentuates key indicators showcasing the country’s strong IT potential. The report cites that in 2010 almost 89% of households and 85% of people residing in Qatar had personal computers, and claims that broadband usage increased by 70% during the 2009-2010 period – a mind-boggling increase of 29% in yearly incremental ICT growth. The report further highlights the fact that Qatar is among the top 30 countries in Network Readiness Index (NRI) with double-digit growth in the ICT arena.