Qatar’s ICT market to reach USD6.8bn by 2016, says minister

Qatar’s Information & Communications Technology (ICT) sector is projected to grow 10% annually to reach QAR24.7 billion (USD6.8 billion) by 2016, the Minister of ICT Hessa Sultan Al Jaber told the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva this week as part of her policy statement on Qatar’s ongoing transformation plan. As reported by Zawya.com, in her speech the minister highlighted the Gulf state’s recent progress: ‘Driven by Qatar’s National ICT Plan 2015 and Qatar National Vision 2030, today Qatar ranks 23rd among 148 countries in the 2014 World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index and fourth in the world in government usage of ICT in that same report … We opened up the telecommunications market and made the decision to invest heavily in building and securing a world-class infrastructure with the capacity and speeds to set Qatar apart in the region and around the world.’