It was set up in 2011 by the Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology (ictQATAR) as one of the region’s first government initiatives giving full support for Qatar’s fiber optic network rollout.
Qnbn signed agreements with state licensed telecommunication operators in Qatar to bring fiber broadband to the country, and plans to achieve maximum coverage of households and businesses.
ictQATAR issued an Authorization to Qnbn on July 14,[5] 2011 followed by a 25-year license in July 2012 to provide Qatar with fiber optic broadband throughout the country, offering wholesale broadband fiber optic infrastructure services to licensed network service providers and operators.
[6] Qnbn focuses upon the deployment of a passive dark fiber network infrastructure, providing equal and open access to telecommunication service providers, on a wholesale basis, and owners and operators of private networks, on a retail basis, thereby enabling end users to efficiently leverage high speed fiber in Qatar.
In 2024, Qatar Investment Authority announced plans to merge the telecommunications businesses of QNBN and Gulf Bridge International (GBI)..