Qatar first market to roll out Qtel rebrand

Qatar will be the first market to undergo Qtel's rebrand to Ooredoo.

The company, which unveiled its new name, meaning "I want" in Arabic, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, will roll out the rebrand across its 15 operations throughout this year and early into next year.

"Qatar will be the first, on March 11," said Nasser Marafih, the chief executive of Ooredoo Group. "We have rebranded inside the group level and we are building exercise launches for some of our operations."

He said the total cost of the rebrand is unknown as the company is still in the process of putting together the budget.

"The rebranding is something we have been thinking about for some time. It is important for a group the size of Qtel to bring the group under one united brand," Mr Marafih said. "It is a symbol of change for the company. The idea is to focus more on testaments and the human growth side of the business. We believe it is an important starting point, but we have a long way to go."

The government-backed operator has a customer base of almost 90 million people. It operates across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It has been on an investment drive in recent years to increase its stake in its current operations and enter new markets in a bid to become a leading telecoms player.

Qtel has also expressed an interest in purchasing a 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom, competing with Etisalat, which is thought to have appointed two banks to advise it on the deal.

"We are still under discussions, but we are looking at other opportunities. This is a process we go through diligently. It has to be done with objectivity and needs to add value to shareholders" said Mr Marafih.

Most recently, Qtel increased its stake in Iraq's Asiacell to 64 per cent in a share offering that raised US$1.24 billion (Dh4.55bn) for the operator.

"Iraq is one of our key markets. One focus is on 3G, we are in discussion with the government and our partners so that we can get clarity," said Mr Marafih. "We believe there is a huge opportunity for data."

Ooredoo will focus more on data and broadband across all its operations this year in a bid to drive internet penetration in the Arab world, which currently stands at 13 per cent.

"We are focusing on providing services that customers need, we know data and broadband is important. Internet penetration is very low and that needs to be lifted. We are trying to convince governments to get licences like in Algeria and Iraq and then to try to find ways to make those services affordable to customers," Mr Marafih said.