­Vodafone Qatar happens to be a joint venture between Vodafone and the Qatar Foundation. The operator has seen a 65% rise in its quarterly revenue that stands at $79.7 million. In addition, the quarterly profit posted before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is $8.5 million.

Concerning the average revenue per user (ARPU), the operator has seen a rise of 11% year-on-year. Currently, stands at $31.85. In addition, the number of mobile customers as on 30 June stands at 761,000, representing a 43% rise.

According to what is outlined in Vodafone Qatar’s IPO prospectus, there is no change at the moment as far as dividend guidance is concerned. The Company is looking to pay dividends based on performance in the financial year ending 31 March 2013.

Vodafone owns 23% in Vodafone Qatar, the Qatar Foundation 22% while 40% is floated on the stock exchange, in addition to 15% that the government investors own.

The Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology (ictQatar) and the Qatar National Broadband Network (Q.NBN) announced that the Q.NBN Board of Directors has appointed Mohammed Al Mannai as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company tasked with building a nationwide fiber broadband network. Al Mannai’s appointment was effective June 1, 2011.

“The Qatar National Broadband Network represents Qatar’s digital highway to the future and is an essential service for our citizens as we move our country forward. I am confident that Mohammed Al Mannai will provide the leadership and vision necessary to make the Qatar National Broadband Network a reality, to the benefit of everyone in Qatar,” said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, ictQATAR’s Secretary General.

Al Mannai has more than 13 years of experience in network planning, deployment and optimization with Qatar Telecom (Qtel), where he most recently served as Senior Director for Network Design and Rollout, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of both fixed and wireless networks for Qtel. In addition to his work at Qtel, Al Mannai was part of the team involved in network planning, building and operations for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Electronics from the American University in Cairo, and has numerous professional management and leadership certifications from institutions including IMD, Insead and the Carnegie Bosch Institute.

“The Qatar National Broadband Network will be a vital part of developing Qatar’s telecommunications market and advancing our economy. I look forward to working with all the involved stakeholders to build a world-class high-speed fiber network in Qatar. It is an honor to be entrusted with leading this important national initiative,” said Al Mannai.

Q.NBN is a fully independent company with the government mandate to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide, open, and accessible high-speed broadband Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network. Q.NBN will provide fiber access to citizens and businesses across Qatar, achieving coverage targets in excess of 95% by 2015.

The resulting high-speed broadband connectivity will enable the effective use of multimedia and communications applications that are central to developing Qatar’s knowledge economy.

Q.NBN will focus solely on the deployment of a passive network infrastructure, efficiently leveraging existing and new infrastructure in Qatar. Q.NBN operates within the existing laws and under license conditions issued by ictQatar.

Vodafone Qatar has begun pre-registration for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The company will be officially launching PlayBook this month.

The prospective customers who registe­r now will be the first to own an official PlayBook from Research In Motion (RIM). Rival Qtel earlier announced it will also carry the Wi-Fi version of the PlayBook.