In the mature telecommunications markets of North America and Europe, internet services generally grew out of existing telephone networks. During the 1990s, early adopters around the world can still recall the odd noises of their 56-K dial-up modems. As technologies developed, operators used copper phone, cable television and other fixed...
A revolution of sorts has been taking place in Oman over the past decade. Around 8% of the country’s population was using the internet in the latter half of the 2000s, at a time when the countries of the OECD had averages hovering between 40% and 60%. By 2011, however, the percentage of internet users had soared, reaching nearly 70%, according to data collected by the...
In recent years, a confluence of factors like broadband infrastructure, social awareness and mobile penetration have given the ICT sector a major boost in the Middle East. The region as a whole is set to spend over $20bn on information technology in 2012, a 10% increase compared to 2011, according to US-based market research firm Frost &...
Worldwide, broadband bandwidth is on the rise. Between 2005 and 2010, international bandwidth, measured by bits per second (bit/s) per user grew more than fivefold from 5464 to 28,772, according to the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU). In Arab states, the trend was twice as fast, with bit/s per user growing more than 10-fold. That...
In 1949 Qatar set up its first automatic telephone exchange, a 50-line network that helped the state reach what was then considered a major milestone in telecommunications: eliminating the need for human operators. In the 63 years since, alongside an economic surge fuelled by the energy sector and a growing population, the telecoms industry evolved...
The use of Arabic on the web has made major gains in recent years, growing by 2500% between 2000 and 2011, according to a study by New York-based app translation firm Smartling. Arabic was the fastest-growing language on the micro-blogging site Twitter between 2010 and 2011, when the volume of Arabic posts grew more than 20 times, according to Paris...
Stay updated on how some of the world’s most promising markets are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what actions governments and private businesses are taking to mitigate challenges and ensure their long-term growth story continues.
Register now and also receive a complimentary 2-month licence to the OBG Research Terminal.
Register Here×