Working from home is changing the way we all work and it is a crucial time for all sectors to discover the challenges and problems that may need short-term or long-term solutions.
Taking note of this, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), with the support of Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), took the initiative in cooperation with local network providers Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar and with international giants Microsoft, Cisco and Google Cloud to provide offers and packages for telecom services to help people of Qatar to work remotely from home easily and safely during the precautionary measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Mohammed Ali Al Mannai, President of CRA, said. “I would like to sincerely thank MoTC for its support to these initiatives. The presence of a highly efficient infrastructure has helped to continue providing reliable services that ensure work continuity of various entities without interruption, and that all citizens and residents of Qatar are able to stay up to date with the latest updates related to the COVID-19 and stay in touch with their families and friends.”
Both Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar have introduced many promotional packages, doubled the speed of Internet for existing residential customers and also doubled the mobile data for residential and business customers, free of additional charges. The measures also included facilitating the remote operation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to access collaboration tools for free through cloud computing platform of Microsoft, which has launched an initiative to provide a number of free services nationwide, such as the customized package of “Office 365”.
Cisco will support businesses in Qatar by offering them free licenses up to 90 days for collaboration tools and several security solutions. The tools include the cloud collaboration platform “WebEx” which allows them to make voice and video conference calls. In terms of the security solutions, Cisco will support businesses by offering Remote Access VPN (Virtual Private Network) with Cisco AnyConnect + virtual Firewall, and Cyber Security anywhere through Cisco Umbrella. For its part, Google Cloud will support businesses in Qatar by offering them free access until September 30, 2020 to Google Meet’s advanced video conferencing abilities for G Suite customers. G Suite is an integrated solution that includes Gmail, Calendar, and Chat.
The spread of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our day-to-day lives. The CRA, in cooperation with key players in the Information and Communications Technology sector, is helping people and businesses work remotely from home easily and safely.
