Interview: Sheikh Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani, CEO, Ooredoo Qatar, on the next decade of digital opportunities and innovation for greater economic diversification in the country
How will the next phase of growth in Qatar’s telecommunications and digital services market evolve, given that 5G coverage is near universal?
SHEIKH ALI: The growth narrative for 2026 and beyond is no longer about connecting the unconnected but about “smartening” the connected. This is done by scaling secure data-centre capacities, advancing local cloud adoption and building sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) architectures. The next horizon of growth will be fuelled by the business-to-business (B2B) and industrial sectors. With 5G standalone infrastructure now mature, industrial-use cases that were once theoretical are now possible. We are seeing a shift from volume-based revenue to value-based solutions. This is particularly the case in private networks for the energy sector, automated logistics and smart manufacturing.
Which emerging area, such as AI-enabled services or internet of things (IoT) platforms, holds the most potential to shape sector expansion?
SHEIKH ALI: Among the most transformative opportunities, the convergence of sovereign AI and enterprise cloud stands out as a powerful catalyst for growth and innovation. We are witnessing a paradigm shift in which data sovereignty is a competitive asset. By establishing local, AI-ready data centres, we are enabling a sovereign cloud environment. This allows Qatari entities to leverage hyperscale AI and graphics processing units as a service without their sensitive data ever crossing national borders. Simultaneously, the evolution of IoT from simple connectivity to intelligent IoT Connect platforms is reshaping our B2B portfolio. There is immense traction in smart city applications where edge computing is critical, processing data at the source, whether it’s a traffic sensor in Lusail or a valve on an offshore rig. Managed services also represent a critical growth vector; as cyber threats evolve and grow in complexity, enterprises are increasingly outsourcing their security posture to us for support.
What role will telecom and digital infrastructure providers play in advancing Qatar’s Digital Agenda 2030, particularly in strengthening data capacity?
SHEIKH ALI: To position Qatar as a true regional technology centre, it is crucial to aggressively expand physical digital infrastructure and create a secure, localised ecosystem that attracts global hyperscalers. Beyond storage and computing, connectivity remains extremely vital. Strategic assets like the Fibre in the Gulf (FIG) subsea cable system are physically connecting Qatar to key global digital corridors. Deploying technologies like 50G PON and 5G Advanced future-proofs the country’s bandwidth capabilities and supports the next decade of innovation with this infrastructure acting as strategic digital ports that will facilitate Qatar’s economic diversification in the years ahead.
Where are the most meaningful opportunities to scale AI across Qatar’s economy?
SHEIKH ALI: AI is opening new opportunities to enhance services, improve efficiency, and support digital transformation. In my view, a holistic deployment strategy that affects every layer of the Qatari economy is the priority, from the individual consumer to the largest enterprise. For consumers, the most meaningful opportunity to utilise AI is delivering personalised, human-centric engagement. At the infrastructure level, the most meaningful opportunity lies in smart city and smart government applications. Partnerships to power platforms for districts like Msheireb in downtown Doha utilise AI for predictive maintenance and energy optimisation. This democratises these exact capabilities for the private sector through AI-as-a-service. This allows local small and medium-sized enterprises to access cognitive tools without prohibitive capital investment. We see this end-to-end integration of AI as the key to unlocking hyper-automation across the entire economy in Qatar, driving real productivity aligned with the country’s Third National Development Strategy.
Read More from OBG
