Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani

Vodafone Qatar had its best financial results ever in 2021, with its highest net profit to date of QAR327 million. To what can the company attribute this success?

Vodafone reported an annual Net Profit of 76.9% increase in 2021 compared to the previous year, mainly driven by EBITDA growth. Total revenue for the year also increased due to continued growth in our postpaid, fixed broadband services (GigaHome), managed services and equipment and related services. We are now serving 1.9 million mobile customers representing a growth of 16.3% compared to the previous year. Our investments to enhance and expand our network, as well as our continued focus on innovation, allow us to better support all of our consumer and business customers across Qatar, which contributes greatly to our ongoing success. Our 5G network is at its most robust and extensive yet and this, as part of our work to develop Qatar’s national digital infrastructure, is continuously opening up opportunities to embrace and deploy other emerging technologies. IoT and AR, for example, are constantly unlocking swathes of applications across smart city, industrial, transport and smart home settings, to name a few. Our latest solutions, including Push-To-Talk Plus and IoT Fleet Management, both of which were launched in 2021, are good examples of how we are empowering our customers to leverage these technologies to achieve their own business goals and take advantage of unrivalled connectivity experiences, at both work and in their everyday lives.

What are the best examples of Vodafone Qatar’s contribution to the development of emerging technologies?

At Vodafone Qatar, we champion innovation through the development of our technological solutions and services, which all aim to accelerate Qatar’s digital transformation and infrastructure. For example, our enhanced IoT Fleet Management solution has been enabling businesses to maximize the efficiency of their fleet operations, our newly launched Asset Tracking solution facilitates the delivery of real-time information such as asset location and environment conditions for those in industries such as construction or logistics, and the new features we have introduced to our Software Defined Network (SDN) offer businesses a chance to enhance the level of agility and control they have over their operations and increase their overall productivity. In addition, we are constantly expanding our 5G network to propel Qatar’s economic growth and provide businesses and individuals alike with access to the latest 5G technologies. We are constantly expanding our 5G connected sites and enhancing our network capacity and capabilities by improving the 5G mobility of our sites. This investment allowed us to also increase customer 5G coverage by 30% and to greatly enhance their experience of the technology in 2022. Our 5G GigaNet network now covers more than 70% of the country’s population.

In 2021, Vodafone unveiled its new brand positioning; can you explain how this represents your company and fits into the current business landscape?

Vodafone Qatar launched its new brand positioning—Together We Can—in 2021 to build partnerships with key parties and stakeholders from various sectors, bringing tangible changes in sustainability, sports and innovation. This demonstrates how the connection between technology and human spirit can turn challenges into opportunities, and reinforces our commitment to investing in our core infrastructure including our wireless and fiber networks. We want to move from being a communications service provider to being an active player in the technology sector as a whole. Our purpose at Vodafone is to facilitate and promote the digital transformation of our lives and businesses via our robust GigaNet network and broad range of solutions and services. In a world that is constantly evolving, the people of Qatar have shown resilience and adaptability to be the key ingredients of success over the past few years. So, it was important to us to show that together with our cutting-edge technology, we can leverage this success and embrace sustainable living, leaving a legacy for generations to come.