File photo used for representation only.
The impressive performance of Qatar in the field Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been once again acknowledged at the global level. Qatar, which has one of the highest internet penetrations in the world, has ranked among top countries in terms of adoption of ICT.
The country has ranked second in the Arab world and ninth globally in ICT adoption as per the Global Competitiveness Report Special Edition 2020 report by the World Economic Forum. In the global ranking of countries, Qatar’s score is 83.9 on the scale of 0- 100. South Korea has topped the ranking with a score of 93.7 in ICT adoption.
ICT adoption is the average of several indicators obtained from The International Telecommunication Union, according to the report. It includes mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 population, internet users percent of adult population, the ratio of Fibre internet subscriptions per 100 population, and other related indicators such as mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, mobile-broadband subscriptions, fixed broadband Internet subscriptions.
Digitalization has advanced at a fast rate in Qatar over the past few years, driven by proactive policies by the government departments and high awareness among citizens and residents. Adoption of new technology in Qatar is also high as the use of Internet and new devices has increased significantly over the last 10 years.
Qatar augmented its ICT infrastructure and improved the Internet quality, and became the first country in the world to launch 5G services. The country has invested substantially in 5G technology which allows peak Internet connection speed to reach 1Gbps. The roll out of 5G has also accelerated the development of wider communications infrastructure in Qatar. The telecommunications sector is contributing significantly to the Qatar’s economy.
A 5G network has the capacity to allow 10,000 times the volume of traffic compared to LTE, and provides peak capacity of 10Gbps. Telecom companies have made substantial progress towards expanding 5G network across Qatar. Ooredoo was the first in the world to launch a commercially-available 5G network.
According to a report released in March 2020, by the Planning and Statistics Authority, the number of computer and Internet users in Qatar has increased sharply. The annual growth rate for computer and Internet users in the period (2009-2018) was 9.9 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.
The number of computer users among the population in the age group (four years and above) reached 2.2 million people in 2018, compared to 846,000 people in 2009; showing an annual growth rate of 9.9 percent during 2009-2018. The percentage of computer users among the population in the age group (four years and above) represents 82.7 percent of total population in this age group in 2018. The indicator is likely to rise in coming years due to high level of awareness among citizens and expatriates in Qatar.
