.كيوتل

Status:	Proposed
Language:	Arabic
Translates to:	"mosaic"
Manager:	Qatar Telecom
Registry Provider:	CentralNic
Type:	IDN Brand TLD
Priority #:	13
More information:

كيوتل is an IDN Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Qatar Telecom, and the string translates to "mosaic", which is the brand name of one of the company's services.

Background

Excerpts from Response to Question #18 in TLD Application:

"Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has chosen to apply for the TLD to promote awareness of its services and products and facilitate the digital growth and physical expansion of the Qtel brand. The TLD will control and protect the Qtel brand by providing an official digital hub for consumers in the Arabic language as well as foster consumer trust by creating a secure and technically stable zone that is easily understandable and navigable for Arabic language internet users. Qtel’s goal is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020, and it actively pursues a program of expansion and consolidation to bring improved service and choice to customers across the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and South East Asia. The deployment of the TLD across this region as the Qtel brand expands will therefore contribute to ICANNʹs commitment to innovation, consumer protection, security, and stability across new markets while simultaneously contribute to ICANN’s goal of increased use of IDNs at the Top and Second Level.

Headquartered in Doha, Qatar, Qtel currently has a presence in 17 countries (Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Kuwait, Pakistan, the Maldives, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia) and has a customer base in excess of 83 million. Qtel has a strong vision and strategy to offer consumer mobile, broadband, and corporate managed services to customers across its coverage area. The company actively seeks entry in developing or emerging markets, bringing a level of service and previously unknown product offerings to consumers. In this regard, Qtel’s expansion program directly mirrors ICANN’s commitment to the extension of choice and the promotion of secure and stable technology across new and emerging markets.

Qtel was incorporated in 1987 and listed on the Qatar Exchange in 1998. The Qatari government provides direct and indirect strategic backing, fuelling the growth and expansion of the company. Within Qatar, Qtel is a full service telecommunications provider offering a suite of mobile, fixed line, broadband, and digital entertainment (television) services. The Qatar operation has 2,000 employees and is one of the largest publicly traded companies in the country, with listings in several other international exchanges (including the London Stock Exchange or LSE).

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The TLD is open to Arabic-language registrations by authorized parties and business units within the Qtel Group. Although individual business units within the Qtel Group may wish to adopt their own strategies corresponding specifically with their unique requirements or market preferences, the common denominator will be employing the TLD to unite Qtel Group sites and services under an uncompromised, secure, stable, and innovative digital hub."