Harnessing broadband – promise and potential

ENAR

Over the past decade, the MENA region has come a long way in terms of telecommunications sector advancement. Between 2000 and 2005, sector revenues grew at an impressive CAGR of 16%, compared to 8% for OECD countries, largely driven by mobile sector growth. Often achieving penetration rates of well over 100%, local mobile markets have enabled phenomenal growth for operators and their global expansion. However, the data sector is not advancing at the same pace. Only 15% of the MENA region’s population are internet users. The vast majority of this minority are constrained by the limitations of low-speed and intermittent dial-up. Broadband adoption remains abysmally low, reaching at most 6%. Figures for 2006 show that the region’s 1.7 million broadband subscribers represented less than 1% of the world’s total broadband subscriber base of 250 million. Why then, have populations exhibiting such appetite for mobile adoption remained so far behind their