Ooredoo activates 200 LTE sites

Since launching commercial 4G LTE mobile broadband services on 15 April, Qatar Telecom (Ooredoo) announced yesterday that it now has around 200 4G base stations in operation, and is increasing the total number of sites on a weekly basis. Ooredoo is rolling out 4G in phases, with coverage initially available in various areas around the capital Doha and the Sealine Beach resort, stating that it will extend coverage to Wakrah, Al Khor and Dukhan by Ramadan (which this year begins in the second week of July), with coverage of Mesaieed to follow; by the end of 2014 it expects to cover ‘all inhabited areas of Qatar’ with the 800MHz/2600MHz network. Ooreedo reported earlier this month that it was pleased with 4G take-up, with ‘thousands’ of LTE users already signed up to services initially available on modems and ‘Mi-Fi’ mobile Wi-Fi hotspots.