Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

So it seems the ADSL speed upgrade has been rolled out by Qtel and almost 95% of users are enjoying their download speeds right now. The upgrade is as follows:

512kb -> 1mb = 200QR
1 mb -> 2 mb = 300QR
2 mb-> 4mb = 400QR

A lot of people have been putting down QTEL for their internet services before and I'm sure that a lot are still complaining despite the upgrades. Personally, all I can say is its good the QTEL is providing the upgrade for free. And the good thing about it is that it doesn't have any download limitations. I mean, other ISPs in the middle east only allow you to download a certain GB of data per month. Any excess byte means additional fees. For a 200QR 1 mb connection, that is good. That is if you're comparing it to the rest of the Middle East. Again, it's another story if we compare it to Korea, Taiwan or Japan. And it's one goal that QTEL should always strive for, to not just be the best in the Middle East but be at par or even better the those which are at the top.

Read excerpt of the official news:
Internet users across Qatar received an unexpected bonus this morning, with the news that Qtel has doubled Broadband speeds for its customers, free of charge, with immediate effect.

The enhanced speeds are among the first benefits realized through Qtel’s major Internet upgrade, which began on 1 April 2009, and were instantly made available for ADSL and Mozaic TV+ customers across the country.

With the speed upgrade program, customers currently enjoying speeds of 512 Kbps can migrate to 1 Mbps without any additional charges, retaining the competitive price of QR200 a month.

This same speed upgrade is being made available for customers of Mozaic TV+, the innovative “triple play” service, which will now come with 1 Mbps as standard.

Customers using the higher 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps service can move up to the 2Mbps or the new 4 Mbps service – without additional charges.

Over time, Qtel will phase out the 512 Kbps service, and deliver 1 Mbps high speed Internet as standard. Customers will be able to deploy the 1 Mbps for QR200, 2 Mbps for QR 300, and 4 Mbps for QR 400.

The initiative has been developed to deliver twice the value at no extra cost for Qtel customers, enabling them to enjoy the benefits of enhanced technology and Qtel’s ongoing investment in a world-class Internet infrastructure, under the “Broadband Qatar” strategy.