The Middle East ICT

Saudi Arabia’s third-largest mobile phone service provider appears set for a change of leadership as Zain, its Kuwait-based owner, bows out after four less-than-profitable years.

Having ridden out the global economic downturn, the IT industry looks set to continue its impressive expansion in Dubai, though it will have to deal with increased competition from within the region as well as further afield – especially Asia – as it seeks to attract new investors and clients.

With a move to become one of the first countries to offer non-Latin language scripts in domain names, Qatar is pushing forward with efforts to help accelerate the development of e-services and e-commerce environments throughout the Arabic-speaking world. In February, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) announced that its website had became the first to use a Qatar-specific domain name in Arabic, with more Arabic domains set to be available for government entities and registered trademark holders starting in March.

Saudi Arabia is looking to further open up its IT sector as part of a broader strategy to develop a knowledge-based society and economy. However, the rapid inroads being made by new technologies may require the state to step up investment in digital infrastructure and hasten its regulatory processes.

Telecommunications providers in the UAE are re-aligning their strategies and upgrading their networks amid greater competition, high mobile saturation and shifting revenue patterns.