Kuwaiti newspapers including The Times, Al-Qabas and Arab Times are reporting that the Ministry of Communications (MoC) and the local division of Nokia have begun work on delayed fibre-optic network projects including the replacement of copper lines with high speed fibre to improve the quality of telephone and internet services in several areas. The MoC disclosed that the most recent work has been completed in the Al-Bida area while planning is under way to start modernising other earmarked areas under a two-year contract signed in May.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database says that the MoC’s initial GPON fibre network deployed in 2006 was belatedly expanded in 2018; Phase II of the GPON project was completed in October 2018, when the MoC claimed that the infrastructure covered 55% of Kuwaiti households, while Phase III has since remained in the early stages.