Arab Region Internet & Telecom Summit Muscat, Oman, 28 – 30 May 2001

1. Arab Region Internet & Telecom SummitMuscat, Oman, 28 – 30 May 2001 Overview of Internet in Arab States Abdulilah Dewachi Regional Adviser Telecommunications and Networking adewachi@escwa.org.lb The views expressed in this presentation are those of the regional adviser and do not necessarily represent those of UNESCWA

2. The Digital Divide 86% world GDP 93% Internet users Income 1% world GDP 0.2% Internet users

3. Internet Access by Region November 2000Nua Internet Survey Arabs are 3% of world population

4. Internet share of population by region March 2000(UN Secretary General Report)

5. Internet generated revenue 1994 – 2002(Billions USD)

6. Arab States Sub-regions • Eastern Arab States (7) • Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, WB&G, Yemen • North African Arab States (9) • Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia • Gulf States (6) • Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, SA, UAE

7. Population

8. Technical Infrastructure

9. Five indicators • Fixed lines • Mobile lines • PC’s • Internet hosts • Internet users

10. World reference

11. ESCWA Region

12. GCC Region

13. Eastern Arab States

14. Regional breakdown

15. Internet Hosts Growth(Jan 99 to Jan 01)

16. Internet Hosts (Jan 2001)

17. Internet Hosts (Jan 2001)

18. Internet Users

19. Internet Users

20. Internet User growth

21. Internet Service Providers

22. Monopoly in telecom

23. Cost of Internet connection

24. Cost of Internet

25. Voice Over IP Officially allowed in: • Egypt • Saudi Arabia • Oman

26. Available modes of connection • Dialup • The most common mode of connection • ISDN • Available in most countries but not used extensively • Leased • Available but expensive • ADSL, Broadband, Cable, Satellite, Etc. • Only few countries • VPN

27. Mobile connection Could be very interesting in the absence of robust hard infrastructure • Special prepaid cards • About to be introduced in some countries • (e.g. Lebanon) • WAP • Limited interest and popularity • GPRS and 3G • ?

28. Soft (socio-economic and educational) Infrastructure

29. Seven “Soft” indicators • Human Development Index • Gender Development Index • School Enrollment Ratio • Adult Literacy • Education Index • Internet hosts • Internet users

30. World Reference

31. Arab States

32. GCC States

33. Middle Eastern Arab States

34. North African Arab States

35. The 3 Sub-regions

36. Internet Usage Profiles Place of access • 72% of users acces the net at home • 22% go online at work • 4% from educational institutions • 2% from Internet cafes

37. Internet Usage Profiles Educational Level • 27% high-school or less • 44% bachelors degrees • 18% graduate diplomas or masters • 3.5% PhD or doctoral degrees

38. Internet Usage Profiles Age • 31.9% are between 21 and 26 • 37.7% are between 27 and 35 • 15.7% are between 36 and 45 • 4.5% over 60

39. Internet Usage Profiles Distribution across professions • 15% IT and telecom engineers • 11.1% other engineers • 10% computer technicians • 5.4% management and consultants

40. Women on the Internet • United States of America 38% • Brazil 25% • Japan 17% • Russia 16% • China 7% • Arab States 4%

41. Internet Applications in the Arab Region

42. Electronic Commerce Electronic Government The Arabic Language Quality of Web Sites Content

43. Electronic Commerce Electronic Government The Arabic Language Quality of Web Sites Content

44. US ECOMMERCE 1998 - 2003

45. Goods purchased over the Internet in the Middle East year ending April 1999 $95m

46. E-banking status of the top 100 Arab banks

47. Problem Areas • Government Role • Facilitator • Regulator and legislator • User • Local habits • Credit cards creditability • Freight charges

48. Problem Areas • Trade barriers • Disintermediation • Local and regional market • Import or export?

49. EIU e-business readiness rankings

50. Electronic Commerce Electronic Government The Arabic Language Quality of Web Sites Content