Arabic web domain names now available in Qatar

The Qatar Domains Registry (QDR) said it has now made Qatar-specific Arabic internet domain names (.Qatar) available to members of the public. The Qatar-specific domain names are available through accredited registrars that have been approved by Qatar Domains Registry, which is managed by regulator ictQatar. Saleh Al-Kuwari, chief technical manager at ictQatar, said in a statement: "The introduction of Arabic domain names is a major milestone in making the Internet accessible for all. "Businesses and individuals will find great value in using the new Qatar-specific Arabic domain names, allowing them to position themselves as uniquely Qatar and connect with new audiences." QDR said it has adopted a registry registrar based business model to encourage competition, choice and innovation. The Latin-script .QA domain names were made available to the public in September, and now, users can register .Qatar through the same registrars, it added. "We have seen tremendous initial interest in the .QA domain names and I expect equal interest in (.Qatar). Organisations that have bilingual or multilingual sites can now choose the most appropriate language for their domain name, allowing users to have a seamless web experience," said Al-Kuwari. ictQatar manages the Qatar Domains Registry and led the process with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the creation of an Arabic domain name for Qatar. ictQatar said in March that it had set up the Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN) to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide Fibre to the Home (FTTH) network. Q.NBN has been charged with achieving 95 percent coverage to homes and businesses across Qatar by 2015.