0125hospital Project

Kuwait Maastricht Business School (KMBS)
Kuwait
Master of Business Administration (Intake 2)
Paper Title: Presented by: Student Number: Group No.: Course title: Module: Advisor: Thesis Delivery Date:
Broadband; Drivers and Obstacles in the state of Kuwait. Omar Faisal Al-Omar 225 MBA I Thesis Strategic Managment Dr. Huub Ruel Dec.12.06
Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________
i Acknowledgment
This thesis was completed with the assistance of my advisor, Dr. Huub Ruel. Earlier sections were also reviewed by Dr. George K. Kostopoulos. The thesis was edited by KMBS authorized editor Mr. Pete thompson. I am grateful for their expert advice, as well as the research support of the KMBS Department of strategic management and finally the support, interest, and enthusiasm of the interviewees.
ii Abstract
The research is an attempt to identify the main drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband, in Kuwait. The research results will help policy-makers and other stakeholders to better identify the challenges that need to be addressed with regard to broadband enabled forms of business, working and public services as well as the related challenges and initiatives. Research and analysis involve different sectors (Government, Academic, and private sector) covering social, technical, political and economic issues. The results of the research will derive a final analysis with regard to the drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband in Kuwait. Keywords: Regional Development, Broadband, Regulatory body, Kuwait Economy.
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iii Table of Contents

i Acknowledgment ................................................................................................................................................... i This thesis was completed with the assistance of my advisor, Dr. Huub Ruel. Earlier sections were also reviewed by Dr. George K. Kostopoulos. The thesis was edited by KMBS authorized editor Mr. Pete thompson. I am grateful for their expert advice, as well as the research support of the KMBS Department of strategic management and finally the support, interest, and enthusiasm of the interviewees........................... i ii Abstract................................................................................................................................................................. i iii Table of Contents................................................................................................................................................ ii iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................................... iii v List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................................... iv vi GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................v vi GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................v 1. Chapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background and Overview ........................................................................................................................2 1.2 Problem Definition ....................................................................................................................................4 1.3 Research Objective ....................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Research Question .....................................................................................................................................6 1.5 Research Methodology ..............................................................................................................................6 1.6 Thesis Structure .........................................................................................................................................6 2. Chapter 2: Literature review...........................................................................................................................7 2.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................................8 2.1 The Islamic Republic of Iran ...................................................................................................................14 2.1.1 KEY STATISTICS....................................................................................................................14 2.1.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET...................................................................................14 2.1.2.1 Overview of Irans telecom market ......................................................................................14 2.1.3 Regulatory authority ..................................................................................................................15 2.1.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET ..........................................................................15 2.1.4.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................15 2.1.4.2 Broadband Access.................................................................................................................16 2.1.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS..............................................................................................16 2.1.5.1 Overview of Irans mobile market ........................................................................................16 2.2 The Kingdom of Jordan ...........................................................................................................................17 2.2.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS. ......................................................................................................17 2.2.2 The telecommunications market in Jordan ................................................................................18 2.2.3 The regulatory environment- Background.................................................................................19 2.2.4 Broadband and Internet in the Kingdom of Jordan....................................................................19 2.2.4.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................19 2.2.4.2 Summary of Internet statistics: .............................................................................................20 2.3 The Kingdom of Bahrain .........................................................................................................................21 2.3.1 KEY STATISTICS....................................................................................................................21 2.3.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET...................................................................................22 2.3.2.1 Overview of Bahrains telecom market ................................................................................22 2.3.3 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT- Background ....................................................................22 2.3.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET- Overview ........................................................23 2.3.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS..............................................................................................24 2.3.5.1 Overview of Bahrains mobile market..................................................................................24 2.4 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .................................................................................................................25 2.4.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS .......................................................................................................25 2.4.2 Telecommunications market in Saudi Arabia............................................................................26 2.4.2.1 Overview of Saudi Arabia's telecom market.........................................................................26 2.4.2.2 Broadband and Internet market.............................................................................................28 2.5 Kuwait......................................................................................................................................................29 2.5.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS. ......................................................................................................29 2.5.2 Overview of Kuwait: .................................................................................................................30 2.5.3 Broadband and Internet market. ................................................................................................32 2.6 Outlining the broadband drivers and obstacles in the region 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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Political drivers and obstacles ...................................................................................................33 2.6.1 2.6.2 Economical drivers and obstacles..............................................................................................33 2.6.3 Social drivers and obstacles.......................................................................................................34 2.6.4 Technological drivers and obstacles ..........................................................................................34 3. Chapter 3: Research design and methodology..............................................................................................35 3.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................36 3.2 Problem Statement...................................................................................................................................36 3.3 Research Objective ..................................................................................................................................37 3.4 Methodological framework......................................................................................................................38 3.4.1 Major research question.............................................................................................................38 3.4.2 Limitations.................................................................................................................................40 3.5 Research design .......................................................................................................................................41 3.5.1 Target population sampling .......................................................................................................41 3.5.2 Data collection instrument and source.......................................................................................42 3.6 Data Analysis methods ............................................................................................................................42 4. Chapter 4: Data Analysis, findings and discussion.......................................................................................43 4.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................44 4.1 Political Obstacles....................................................................................................................................44 4.2 Political Drivers .......................................................................................................................................46 4.3 Economical Obstacles..............................................................................................................................46 4.4 Economical Drivers .................................................................................................................................47 4.5 Social Obstacles.......................................................................................................................................48 4.6 Social Drivers ..........................................................................................................................................49 4.7 Technological Obstacles ..........................................................................................................................50 4.8 Technological Drivers..............................................................................................................................51 5. Chapter 5: Conclusion, recommendations, and further research. .................................................................52 5.0 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................................53 5.1 Recommendations....................................................................................................................................56 5.1.1 Political category Recommendations.........................................................................................56 5.1.2 Economic recommendations......................................................................................................57 5.1.3 Social category recommendations .............................................................................................58 5.1.4 Technological category recommendation..................................................................................58 5.2 Further research .......................................................................................................................................59 References:.............................................................................................................................................................60
iv List of Tables
Table 1-1: Wireless (WIFI, WIMAX, WLL) status in the Gulf Cooperation Countries..........................................5 Table 2-1: Arab Countries ranked by Madar ICT Use Index ...................................................................................8 Table 2-2: Middle East Telecommunications Regulators ........................................................................................9 Table 2-3: Current communications markets regulatory framework ....................................................................10 Table 2-4: Arab Countries Total Country Connectivity Measure ..........................................................................13 Table 2-5: Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005 .........................................................................16 Table 2-6 : Mobile subscribers 1995 - 2005 .......................................................................................................17 Table 2-7 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005 ........................................................................21 Table 2-8 : Fixed lines in service and teledensity 1995 - 2005 ...........................................................................21 Table 2-9 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005 ........................................................................24 Table 2-10 : Mobile subscribers and penetration 1995 - 2005............................................................................25 Table 2-11 : ADSL subscribers (2002-April 2006)................................................................................................27 Table 2-12 : Monthly ADSL charges .....................................................................................................................28 Table 2-13 : ADSL Charges May (2006)...............................................................................................................29 Table 2-14 : General Tele-Communications use in Kuwait ...................................................................................30 Table 2-15 : Kuwaits Participation in Global Intellectual Property Bodies and Treaties .....................................31 Table 2-16 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005 ......................................................................32 Table 5-1 : Kuwait broadband PEST analysis; a summary of the interviews findings ..........................................53 Table 5-2 : The current communications model in Kuwait....................................................................................56
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v List of Figures
Figure 2-1: Technology development .................................................................................................................12 Figure 2-2 : Kuwait information Society Milestones .............................................................................................30
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vi GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS
3G Third Generation ADSL Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line ANSI American National Standards Institute AP Application Processor Access Point Access Provider ARPU Average Revenue per User ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode BAH The Kingdom of Bahrain B-ISDN Broadband ISDN BoD Broadcast on Demand BPON Broadband Passive Optical Network CAN Customer Access Network CATV Cable TV C-band Conventional band CCTV Closed Circuit TV CDMA Code Division Multiple Access CPS Carrier Pre Selection CPU Central Processing Unit DNS Domain Name System DSL Digital Subscriber Line DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer ERP Enterprise Resource Planning ETV Enhanced Television FLAG Fiber Link Around Globe FOG Fiber Optics Gulf FoIP Fax over Internet Protocol FOTS Fibre Optic Transmission Service FTP (ftp) File Transfer Protocol FttB Fibre-to-the-Building FttC Fibre-to-the-Curb (same meaning as in FTTP when this abbreviation is used for Fibre-to-thePole) FttH Fibre-to-the-Home FttK Fibre-to-the-Kerb FttN Fibre-to-the-Neighborhood FttP Fibre-to-the-Premises (both home and business) FWA Fixed Wireless Access GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Gb/s Gigabits-per-second GbE Gigabyte Ethernet GHz Giga Hertz GPRS General Packet Radio Service GPS Global Positioning Systems GSM Global System for Mobiles GUI Graphical User Interface HDSL High Rate Digital Subscriber Line HDTV High Definition TV HSCSD High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data HSDPA High-Speed Downlink Packet Access HSDS High-Speed Data System HTML Hypertext Mark-up Language HTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol Hz Hertz IBN Interactive Broadband Networks ICP Independent Content Provider ICT Information & Communications Technology IDSN Integrated Services Digital Network IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IN Intelligent Network IP Internet Protocol IPLCs International Private Leased Circuits IRR Internal Rate of Return ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network ITU International Telecommunications Union ITU-T Standards Committee International Telecommunications Union KMBS Kuwait Maastricht Business Scool KSA Kingdom of Saudi Arabia KWT Kuwait LEO Low Earth Orbit Mb/s Megabits-per-second MDF Main Distribution Frame MLPS Multi Protocol Label Switching MoC Ministry of Communication MoD Multimedia-on-Demand MoU Memorandum of Understanding MPLS Multi Protocol Label Switching MTC Multipurpose Community Telecentre Mobile Telecommunication Company N-CDMA Narrowband CDMA NGI Next Generation Internet NGN Next Generation Network N-ISDN Narrowband Integrated Services Digital Network NMS Network Management Software NOC Network Operations Centre OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer OFC Optical Fibre Cable PABX Private Automatic Branch Exchange PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association PDA Personal Digital Assistant PDN Packet Data Network Public Data Network PIN Personal Identification Number PON Passive Optical Network POP Post Office Protocol PoP Point of Presence (Point-of-Presence) POS Point of Sale PPP Point-to-Point Protocol PRI/BRI Primary Rate Interface/Basic Rate Interface PR-ISDN Primary Rate ISDN PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network PTO Public Telecommunications Operator Public Telecom Operator Public Telephone Operator
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ PTS Public Telecommunications Service PTT Postal, Telegraph & Telephone (operator) Push-to-talk PVC Permanent Virtual Circuit QoS Quality of Service QTR Qatar R-ADSL Rate ADSL ROI Return on Investment SAN Satellite Access Node Storage Area Network SBS Small Business System SC/MU Single-Cell, Multi-User SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy SHDSL Symmetric High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line SIP Session Initiated Protocol SLA Service Level Agreement SMB Server Message Block Small Medium Business SME Small and Medium Enterprise SMS Short Message Service SMTP Simple Mail Transport Protocol SNA System Network Architecture SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol SOHO Small Office Home Office SONET Synchronous Optical Network TCP Transmission Control Protocol TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol TDM Time Division Multiplexing TDMA Time Division Multiple Access TRA Telecommunication regulatory Authority UAE United Arab Emarites UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service URL Uniform Resource Locator VAMS Value-Added Mobile Services VAN Value-Added Network VARs Value-Added Resellers VAS Value-Added Service VBI Vertical Blanking Interval VDSL Very High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line VLAN Virtual Local Area Network VNS Virtual Network Services VoBB Voice over Broadband VoD Video-on-Demand VoDSL Voice over Digital Subscriber Line VOI Voice over the Internet VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol VoN Voice over Net VoP Voice over Packet VOP Visa Open Platform VoWLAN Voice over Wireless LAN VPDS Virtual Private Data Service VPN Virtual Private Network VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal VT/VTP Virtual Terminal/Virtual Terminal Protocol WAN Wide Area Network WAP Wireless Application Protocol WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing WiFi Wireless Fidelity WiFiRAN WiFi Radio Active Network WiMAX World Interoperability for Microwave Access WIN Wireless Intelligent Networks WIPI Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability WISP Wireless Internet Service Provider WLAN Wireless Local Area Network WLL Wireless Local Loop WPA WiFi Protected Access WPAN Wireless Personal Area Networks WPBX Wireless PBX WSP Wireless Service Provider WTO World Trade Organization WWW World Wide Web
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1. Chapter 1: Introduction.
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1.1 Background and Overview

The discovery of oil in 1934 transformed the state of Kuwaits economy. Kuwait's enormous oil reserve of 94 billion barrels and vast quantities of natural gas have provided the base for an economic presence of worldwide significance. The Kuwaiti standard of living was among the highest in the Middle East and in the world by the early 1980s. Oil wealth has stimulated trade, fisheries development, and service industries. The Kuwaiti government has used its oil revenues to build ports, roads, an international airport, a seawater distillation plant, and modern government and office buildings. The public has also been well served by the large-scale construction of public works, free public services, and highly subsidized public utilities, transforming Kuwait into a fully developed welfare state. Prudent management of budgetary allocations and development priorities, as well as substantial interest from overseas investment helped to cushion the adverse impact of the collapse of the Souk al-Manakh (an unregulated curbside securities market) in 1982, the collapse in world oil prices during the mid-1980s, and the 198088 Iran-Iraq war. In addition, the acquisition in Western Europe of 5,000 retail outlets (marketed under the name "Q8") and expansion into the manufacture and sale of refined oil products bolster the Kuwaiti economy. Kuwait possesses a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's economy suffered enormously from the effects of the Gulf War and the Iraqi occupation, which ended in February 1991 with the destruction of much of Kuwait's oil production capacity and other economic infrastructure, especially telecommunications infrastructure. The damage inflicted on the economy was estimated at $20 billion. A few months back I was discussing the telecommunications situation in the Gulf area, with a friend of mine who has 35 years of telecommunications experience. We talked about an event that BATELCO (Bahrain Telecommunications Company) had held in the early 1970s in accordance with the Emir of Bahrains instructions, to commission one of the most advanced earth stations in the Gulf area. The main objective of the event was to show to the region that Bahrain was starting to adapt to the evolutions in technology, and also as an attempt to draw nearer to Kuwait in the field of telecommunications, since Kuwait was the pioneer in the region in this respect. Nowadays, and based on the Arab council study conducted in 2005, Kuwait ranks fifth before Oman in the field of communications among the six Arabian Gulf states. For the past 9 years I have been involved in the telecommunications / communications sector in Kuwait. At first, I started working in the Kuwait Ministry of Communications (MoC) for 18 months and then switched to the private sector where I joined Qualitynet, an Internet Service Provider. (ISP was the first privately owned company in the telecommunications sector in Kuwait)
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I have just left Qualitynet to work in a communications services company. Furthermore, my father worked for 30 years in the telecommunications business in Kuwait, mainly in the Ministry of Communications before he retired. As a consequence, I am the second generation from my family, in the telecommunications sector, who has witnessed the heyday, downfall, and hopefully return and rise of the communications sector in Kuwait. Based on my previous work experience, and due to the fact that today the progress of technology in this field is measured in units of two rather than tens of years which was the case in the 20th century. Also, considering the fact that the telecommunications sector in Kuwait is neither regulated nor de-regulated, it is not only not allowing players to enter the market, but also not protecting the presently involved players. Furthermore, the Kuwait government is neither studying nor measuring the communications global market (based on the fact that they have withdrawn from almost all the international forms), which is resulting in confusion among the companies currently involved in the market, especially since telecommunications services have a very thin line between each. This means that the Internet can not be restricted to a persons personal computer (PC) like it used to be. Nowadays, consumers can connect to the Internet via their PDAs and Mobiles. Moreover, voice services can not be restricted to the consumers mobile or fixed line anymore. Presently, the existing companies are trespassing on other companies domains even though they are not licensed for this. Companies also sell unauthorized services such as international calls in the black market. To give an example, MTC (the first licensed mobile company in Kuwait) and Watania (the second licensed mobile company in Kuwait) are at this time providing Internet services over the Edge technology through the mobile phones, PDAs and laptops. This is while their licenses from the Kuwait government restrict them to mobile/voice telephony and do not allow the provision of Internet services! Internet services were purchased by other ISPs in closed envelopes tenders. Based on the above mentioned, a) the speed of technological leaps, which narrow down the boundaries; b) the absence of the regulation or de-regulations in Kuwait; and c) the cut throat competition between mobile operator, ISP and the Ministry of Communications. The general consideration is that the current communications sector in Kuwait is heading towards a disaster within the coming 2 years. I believe that the Kuwaiti government desires to revolutionize, however, it looks as if there is no visible advancement and integration between the stakeholders on the horizon. Consequently, working without planning is planning to fail, as we may witness in Chapter 4. In the 21st Century, a countrys development will be measured by their advancement in the telecommunications sector. Worldwide, the history of delivering electronic services has always followed the lead of a foremost delivery medium. Broadband is the medium of the future, and standard network management protocols allow anyone to drive this information highway. The widespread devotion to Internet Protocol (IP) has established a similar following, and precedence, and a vision of things to come. Current standards are not up to the task and it will be at least two years before xoIP (anything over IP) offers the quality of service that customers will need with regard to security, availability, and functionality. Unfortunately, as we will gather in this paper, Kuwaits current situation cannot cope with the communications progress despite the availability of the financial resources and the access budget for the year 2005 due to the dramatic rise of oil prices.
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By conducting this research, I believe I will be pulling together the points of view, feedback and opinions of the stakeholders. That is, the Government, Academic Institutions and the Private sector. Adding to that I will show the best practices and similar case studies in the Middle East & Arabian Gulf area. The gap may perhaps be bridged between the government, and the current existing communications companies, and the future national/international investors. Moreover, recommendations may be useful for the current communications companies if they want to co-exist in a small semi-saturated market such as ours.
1.2
Problem Definition
"Broadband" refers to a type of network connection that supports a very high bit rate, as opposed to "narrowband," which supports a lower bit rate. The higher the bit rate, which is a measure of the speed of transmission of bits per second (bps), the faster the transmission will occur in a given period of time. "Bandwidth" is a measure of capacity. Greater bandwidth allows more information to be communicated in a given period of time. Broadband media services delivery, require the transmission of large amounts of information quickly, so the combination of fast broadband transmissions and large amounts of bandwidth required to deliver information are the foundations of broadband media services delivery. But this is just the beginning of the broadband media services story. The true value of broadband media services lies in the actual services that can be delivered across these high-speed, high-bandwidth networks, the entirely new "on demand" way customers will access them and the customized and personalized manner in which individuals will interact with these services. With that in mind, we can formulate a definition of broadband media services: Broadband media services are the seamless, customized, "on demand" creation and delivery of multimedia services to homes, businesses, and mobile users, including entertainment services (movies, interactive games, broadcast TV), infotainment (e-learning, online training) through high-speed Internet protocol (IP) networks. (International Engineering Consortium-2005) In Chapter 4 there are clearer outlines for the problem, and through out the research conducted we will identify the stockholders responsibility toward the development of Kuwait in the communications sector.
1.3
Research Objective
The overall objective of the thesis is to identify the main drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband, in the knowledge based, service driven economy of Kuwait. The research results will help policy-makers and other stakeholders to better identify the challenges that need to be addressed with regard to broadband enabled forms of business, working and public services as well as the related challenges and initiatives. Research and analysis will involve different sectors (Government, Academic, and private sector) covering social, technical, political and economic issues. The results of the research will derive a final analysis with regard to the drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband in Kuwait.
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Table 1-1: Wireless (WIFI, WIMAX, WLL) status in the Gulf Cooperation Countries
Country
Type service
of Frequency Band WIFI 2.4/GHz Not Assigned Not Assigned
Personal use Commercial use License exempted License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory
Fees
Remarks
U.A.E
WIMAX WLL
50/BD Annually Under Study Under Study
*BAH
WIFI WIMAX
2.4 GHz 5.4GHz
Light License License Mandatory License Mandatory
License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory
Under Study Under Study Under Study
Light Lice. Admin fee
WLL/FWA 2.7-2.5/5.45.8/10/ 28-26/40 GHz KSA WIFI WIMAX WLL KWT 2.4 GHz
License exempted
License Mandatory
Under study
No information available WIFI 2.4 GHz 5.8 License GHz Exempted WIMAX Not Under Study WLL Assigned Under Study Not Assigned WIFI WIMAX WLL 2.4 GHz License Exempted License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory Under Study Under Study Under Study
OMN
QAT
Source (Batelco 2005). *
Under consultation
The above table clearly demonstrates the gap in licenses between the GCC countries and Kuwait.
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1.4 Research Question

This research will focus on the broadband drivers and obstacles in Kuwait, focusing on four major issues: 1. Broadband Technical drivers and obstacles, 2. Broadband Political drivers and obstacles, 3. Broadband Economical drivers and obstacles, 4. Broadband Social drivers and obstacles.
1.5
Research Methodology
The research will be based on a qualitative method; therefore it will be based on face to face semi-structured interviews with the people who are dealing with the dilemma. The use of these interviews will help in gathering valid and reliable data which is relevant to the research question and objectives. Such interviews may perhaps instigate a number of data quality issues related to reliability, forms of bias, validity and generalisability. People participating in the interviews need to hold senior positions in their respective organizations. Furthermore, they have to have a direct relationship with the subject. For instance, a financial manager will affix minimal value where as an operational manager will be more pertinent to the research.
1.6 Thesis Structure

The structure of the Thesis is as follows: The next chapter reviews the existing neighboring countries demographics, communications advancement, and broadband state. It will view technology adoption in each country, in order to highlight how the surrounding environment is advancing and how will it impact, as well as inspire in complementing the drivers and negotiating the obstacles encountered in Kuwait. Chapter 3 covers methodology, discussing the setting, participant, materials in form of interviews, and procedures. Chapter 4 will be the data analysis results, illustrating the main findings on the obstacles and drivers of broadband in Kuwait, based on individual interviews with the stakeholders from several industries and how these results relate to the literature. results, Chapter 5 concludes and describes the results. Judgments will be made about the and recommendations offered.
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2. Chapter 2: Literature review.
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2.0 Introduction
The telecommunications, entertainment, video and multimedia markets worldwide are undergoing sweeping changes, characterized by expanding product and service developments and the convergence of previously separate industries. Digital convergence is bringing together computer, phone, recording and broadcast technologies within an all-digital environment that enables new, flexible uses of products and services. (Tine Lewis, 2006) Technological change is not only considered as a cause of economical and social development but also comes as a result of it. Despite the fact that the accurate measurement of its effect on the development of the region remains indistinct and is difficult to notice directly. It might be perceived that the telecommunications would have a negative effect on the economies of the region because the high amount of investment this sector needs to cover the imported infrastructure, and its related services cost. Generally speaking the Gulf area will not be facing investment issues especially after the recent rise in oil prices. However, it may face some problems when it comes to services and skilled employment. In the telecommunications field, local expertise is generally geared towards coordination and support activities rather than telecommunications, knowledge innovation. The fact of the matter is that the effort of design, development, planning and advancement are exercised in the developed countries, and exported to the developing countries. Despite these various visions and methods, all the countries in the region agree on the necessity for telecommunications advancement, and are raising standards of readiness to cooperate with the international telecommunications community.
Table 2-1: Arab Countries ranked by Madar ICT Use Index
PC Installed Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Country UAE Bahrain Kuwait Qatar Lebanon Saudi Arabia Jordan Oman Palestine Morocco Tunisia Egypt Syria Libya Algeria Yemen Iraq Sudan Total Population 3,700,000 728,000 2,418,000 805,000 4,387,000 23,898,000 5,332,000 2,760,000 3,450,000 31,430,000 10,000,000 71,300,000 19,000,000 5,433,000 32,549,000 19,100,000 24,340,000 37,065,000 297,695,000 Base 590,000 108,000 300,000 108,000 275,000 1,800,000 233,000 97,000 130,000 510,000 328,000 1,130,000 334,000 135,000 310,000 145,000 200,000 185,000 6,918,000
Internet Users 1,100,000 180,000 320,000 75,000 505,000 1,920,000 342,000 165,000 200,000 600,000 524,000 2,000,000 275,000 160,000 610,000 55,000 45,000 92,000 9,178,000
Fixed Lines 1,100,000 177,000 483,000 178,000 760,000 3,420,000 805,000 234,500 320,000 1,250,000 1,163,000 7,960,000 2,070,000 521,000 1,904,000 510,000 700,000 780,000 24,335,500
Mobile Phones 2,507,500 392,000 1,400,000 280,000 840,000 5,500,000 1,240,000 484,500 570,000 6,436,000 700,000 4,628,000 470,000 75,000 595,000 523,000 22,000 340,000 27,003,000
ICT Use Index 1.43 1.18 1.04 0.8 0.54 0.53 0.49 0.36 0.35 0.28 0.27 0.22 0.17 0.16 0.11 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.23
Source: Madar research journal, May 2003.
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Most of the countries in the Middle East are just beginning to move towards less state involvement and greater competition in their Telecom Markets. In many cases this is encouraged by World Trade Organization (WTO) membership requirements and nearly all the countries in the region are now beginning to introduce some degree of competition and private ownership . Generally speaking there are several areas relating to the development of the telecommunications sector such as: The development of infrastructure. Creation of job opportunities. Regulating competition. Generate specialized telecommunications services. Generating foreign investment opportunities. Increasing social learning curve. Facing globalization. Cooperating with the world in rapid changes in the field of telecommunications.
Table 2-2: Middle East Telecommunications Regulators
Telecom Operator
Bahrain Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Iraq The National Communications and Media Commission Regulator (CMC) Jordan . Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Regulator Kuwait . Ministry of Communications Regulator Lebanon . Ministry of Telecommunications Regulator Oman . Sultanate of Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Regulator Authority Qatar . The Supreme Council for Communications and Regulator Information Technology (SCICT or ictQATAR) Saudi Arabia . Saudi Communications and Information Technology Regulator Commission (CITC) United Arab Emirates . Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Regulator
Primary Activity . Regulator . Regulator .
Website . www.tra.org.bh . www.irib.com . ncmc-iraq.org . www.trc.gov.jo . www.moc.kw . www.mpt.gov.lb . www.tra.gov.om . www.ict.gov.qa . www.citc.gov.sa . www.tra.gov.ae
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As interpreted from the above table, Kuwait is one of the very few countries in the Middle East which lacks the presence of a neutral regulatory body. Summarizing Change in the region The Telecom Market is changing, and developing in many countries in the Middle East such as, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iran and so forth. There is increased competition especially in the mobile sector and a gradual reduction of state ownership, thus more involvement from the private sector.
Table 2-3: Current communications markets regulatory framework
As a result of significant investments in the expansion and improvement of local infrastructure, demand for telecom services is increasing. Mobiles are taking market share from the declining fixed line markets in more developed countries. Several countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar are testing 3G services following a successful 3G introduction in Bahrain and Kuwait.
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Although broadband penetration is still extremely low in the region, by 2006 growth rates were generally on a par with the average growth rate of most developed regions. Convergence issues have yet to have much impact in the region. Growth is set to continue as the markets become more liberalized with open competition. Key highlights A number of Middle Eastern countries have some active competition in their telecom markets. In mid 2006 the UAE government announced its intention to fully liberalize its telecom sector by 2015, most likely to act in line with WTO recommendations. On the same note, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced plans to liberalize its fixed telephony sector ending the current monopoly, and opening the mobile sector for more competition. The region is set to benefit from the new TWA-1 Undersea Cable Network linking Karachi in Pakistan, Fujairah in UAE and Al Seeb Muscat in Oman. In addition, Flag Telecoms FALCON cable, currently under construction, is expected to bring enormous amounts of capacity to the region, which has previously been under served by international connectivity. FOG 2 (Fiber Optic Gulf) In 2006 the national telecoms companies of UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed an agreement to lay the FOG2 cable. Representing the second generation of (FOG) cable which served with many service distractions due to the poor deign. FOG2 will initially link:1) Fujairah ~ UAE 2) Um Qasr ~ Al Basra province, Iraq 3) Eastern coast of Saudi Arabia The above is expected to be completed by the end of 2006. ADSL (Broadband). Broadband penetration is still extremely low in the region. By 2006, growth rates were generally on a par with the average growth rate of most developed regions. UAE Broadband usage is expected to surpass the number of dial up Internet users by the end of 2007 (refrence). Bahrain Batelco announced in early 2006 that it aims to offer broadband to every household in the country by 2008. They will launch a campaign called B.B.Bahrain (Broadband Bahrain). Jordan Broadband penetration has very low but growth has been rapid causing a steady decline in dial up usage. In addition triple play services have been launched in Jordan and are beginning to see more convergence, particularly in VOIP. However, in the Bahrain market several new competitors aim to deliver broadband Internet plus voice services via VOIP. Convergence developments are starting to pick up in Kuwait, with satellite TV operating providing broadband Internet services and bundling them with TV subscriptions. However, VOIP services are to this day prohibited.
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While fixed line teledensity in these countries remains comparatively low, the mobile market is booming, with a significant rise in the number of subscribers over 2005, notably in Iraq and Iran, and to a lesser extent in the more mature market of Kuwait. By early 2006, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar were all testing 3G services following its successful introduction in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Figure 2-1: Technology development
Source: Arthur D. Little
Leaders in the field, in the region are: MTC (has been the biggest player). Kuwait Etisalat UAE. Wataniya Kuwait
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-4: Arab Countries Total Country Connectivity Measure
The Total Country Connectivity Measure is calculated by adding the household mainlines penetration, GSM penetration, and Internet users penetration rate in each country Source: Operators, Arab Advisors Group
In my view, in order to for us to observe the drivers and obstacles of broadband in Kuwait, we need to bench mark, or evaluate it against other countries and therefore the overall picture will be clearer. Naturally, the countries to be compared with can neither be western or far eastern countries since the cultures are unlike, the economical environment is different and so are the political environments. Finally, the technological situation is almost entirely different as well. While in developed countries on average there are 50 phone lines per 100 inhabitants, the average in developing countries is 10 (ITU, 2002). Therefore, it has been decided that the countries to be bench marked with aught to be from the same region; thus the following countries were chosen. The Islamic republic of Iran, since it extends across the Arabian Gulf region and is the biggest country in the Middle East in terms of area, and population. Next the Kingdom of Jordan was chosen since it is one of the only Asian Arab countries with an open telecommunications systems, and is bounded by actual processes rather than a governmental monopoly such as the republic of Syria, or an uncontrolled environment for instance like the republic of Lebanon. The Kingdom of Bahrain was also chosen given that its the most regulated and has the possibility to become one of the most dynamic telecommunications markets in the Middle East. (Tine Lewis, 2006) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is used, since all of Kuwaits terrestrial communications pass through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this is the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the closest to Kuwait in terms of culture, and technology. Finally, Kuwait was chosen to be studied from an international point of view.
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2.1 The Islamic Republic of Iran 2.1.1 KEY STATISTICS

COUNTRY STATISTICS Population 69.7 million, Number of households (2004) 13.42 million, Land area 1.636 million sq km, Capital Tehran, Local currency Rial, GDP US$196.4 billion, GDP per capita at current prices US$2,825, GDP real growth rate 5.9%, Government: Islamic Republic. TELEPHONE NETWORK STATISTICS Fixed telephone lines in service 19 million, Fixed-line teledensity 27%, Major public telecom operator Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI). INTERNET USER STATISTICS Internet users 5.5 million, Internet penetration 7.9%. MOBILE STATISTICS Mobile subscribers 8.5 million, Annual growth 128%, Mobile penetration 12.5% Major mobile operator MCI. NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITIES Regulatory authority Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).
(Compiled from ITU, CIA factbook)
2.1.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

2.1.2.1 Overview of Irans telecom market Irans economy has shown healthy growth rates in recent years, helped by the high rice of oil. Iran expects to receive US$36 billion in oil revenues over the year 2006/07. However energy subsidies account for 10% of GDP and inflation levels are dangerously high. The telecoms market in Iran is a total state-owned monopoly with the exception of Internet provision. The Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) is responsible for all other telephone related matters. TCI is a division of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). Internet use has grown quickly from a low user base, despite low ownership of PCs. This is mainly due to the proliferation of Internet cafes, with over 1,500 in Tehran and more in other large metropolitan areas. Broadband services are also available and the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is widespread. Censorship was previously relatively lenient but has been tightened. Bans on home satellite TV dishes have also been more rigorously enforced.
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2.1.3 Regulatory authority

The MCIT, previously known as the MPTT until December 2003, is the regulatory authority. The MCITs responsibilities encompass the fields of Communications, IT and space. Its roles and responsibilities are numerous and include the formation of overall policies and standards for the development of CIT, macro policy making, licensing of CIT service providers and formation regulations for dispute resolution in CIT-related disputes. Two high councils and a committee (the High Council of Information Technology, the High Council on Space and the Committee for the Formulation of Communications Regulation) are responsible for each of the three key areas. The High Council on Space and the Committee for the Formulation of Communications Regulation are each supported by an organization that is responsible for implementing their decisions. The Committee for the Formulation of Communications Regulations is responsible for: The Communications infrastructure; Setting pricing policies for all CIT services; Approval of tariffs and rates for all Communications services; Formulation of the countrys Communications regulations and monitoring their implementation; Policy-making for issuance of frequency authorization; The Committee members chairman, secretary, a representative of the organization for management and planning, a representative of the Ministry of economic affairs and finance and three CIT experts nominated by the Minister of CIT and approved by the Council of Ministers.
2.1.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET

2.1.4.1 Overview Internet provision has been a thriving sector of the industry and is very competitive. Private companies are licensed to provide retail Internet access but there have been threats to bring it under state control. Internet services were piloted in Iran by the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM), which first established access in 1992. This made Iran only the second country in the Middle East to link to the Internet. Internet resources are widely available in all metropolitan areas. Internet cafes and universities are popular places for access. Free Internet access is provided to students, with nearly all universities in the country connected. The majority of the academic network lines are leased, though some are dial-up or Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). Access for academic use is approximately 50-100 times cheaper. Prepaid Internet access cards are widely available and have the advantage of providing anonymous Internet access. With such a large proportion of users connecting at public access points such as Internet cafes and educational establishments rather than at home it is particularly difficult to estimate the number of users. TCI estimated the number of Internet users at around 6.2 million at July 2005 and a news article in Emirates Today in June 2006 quoted a figure of 7.5 million users, saying it was the fastest growing market in the region.
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-5: Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (July)
Users 2,600 10,000 30,000 65,000 250,000 625,000 1,005,000 3,168,000 4,800,000 5,500,000 6,200,000
Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.4% 1% 1.5% 5% 7% 8% 9%
(Source: based on ITU and TCI data) 2.1.4.2 Broadband Access ADSL services are available and growing slowly. ADSL2+ services are also available. In order to solve infrastructure limitations a number of Private Access Providers (PAP) licenses were awarded to private ISPs in 2004. The MCIT licensed 13 Iranian companies to provide ADSL services. Under the terms of their contracts, the companies were each to establish within a year at least 20,000 lines in five provinces and 20 towns. Companies with a PAP license and broadband infrastructure include Asre Danesh Afzar, Asia-Tech, Pars Online, Shatel and CTEL Kish. Wireless broadband services of 5Mb/s are available in some areas where ADSL is not available. DCI provides Internet connection via satellite both to end-users and to ISPs. Many ISPs have been using these high-speed connections to provide VoIP services. DPI provides high-speed satellite download connections through Kuwait-based ShowNet. The upload connection has to be made via a local ISP. The satellite connection is made from ShowNets Digital Video Broadcasting platform on Nilesat 102. The service is available in different download speeds from128Kb/s 1,024Kb/s.
2.1.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

2.1.5.1 Overview of Irans mobile market There is a very large unmet demand for mobile services in Iran, with shortages of phones and SIM cards and an overloaded network. An international tender for a second GSM license concluded in February 2004 with the winner announced as the Irancell consortium, led by Turkish mobile operator Turkcell. However a long running legal dispute led in late-2005 to the replacement of Turkcell in the consortium by South African operator MTN, the runner up in the original tender. The license was then awarded in August 2005, after an eighteen month delay. Irancell has yet to launch services but under the terms of its license must do so by endSeptember 2006.
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The government is also planning to license a third operator, to launch services by November 2007. Under the governments original plans, a third license was intended to be offered two years after the launch of the second operator.
Table 2-6 : Mobile subscribers 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
(Source: ITU, TCI and Global Mobile data)
Subscribers 15,900 60,000 239,000 390,000 490,000 963,000 2,087,000 2,280,000 3,450,000 4,271,000 8,525,000
2.2 The Kingdom of Jordan 2.2.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS.

COUNTRY STATISTICS: Population 5.8 million, Number of households (2004) 1 million, Land area 91,971 sq km, Capital Amman, Local currency Jordanian diner (JD), GDP US$12.9 billion, GDP per, capita at current prices US$2,219, GDP real growth rate 7.2%, Government: Constitutional monarchy. Telecom revenue and investment statistics year 2004 Telecommunications services revenue US$650 million, Telecommunications investments JD111.4 million. Telephone network statistics year 2005 Fixed telephone lines in service 0.63 million, Fixed-line teledensity (e) 11.4%, Major public telecom operator Jordan Telecom (JORDAN TELECOM). Internet user statistics year 2005 Internet users (e) 0.86 million, Internet penetration (e) 15%. Broadband statistics March 2005 ADSL subscribers 12,600, Leased lines 7,000. Mobile statistics year 2005 Mobile subscribers 3.137 million, Annual growth 91.59%, Mobile penetration 53.69%, Major mobile operators Fast link Mobile COM Express Umniah.
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National telecommunications authorities Regulatory authority Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC)

(Compiled from ITU, CIA factbook, and Arab advisors report).
2.2.2 The telecommunications market in Jordan

Overview of Jordans telecom market As a matter of fact the Kingdom of Jordan has one of the most deregulated telecommunications markets in the Middle East, in 1995 it began privatizing and liberalizing its telecom sector, when a new Telecommunications Law was passed creating the Telecommunications Regulatory Committee (TRC), an industry regulatory body. In 2000, Competition was introduced into the mobile market. 2004 on January 1st, the competition in the mobile market was enhanced when the duopoly in the mobile market expired in accordance with the 1995 telecoms law. Two further mobile operators have launched. 2005 on 1 January, Jordan Telecoms monopoly over the fixed-line market expired. In April 2005 leading to a number of regulatory changes in the telecoms sector that resulted in full liberalization of the fixed-line market. Incumbent Telco Jordan Telecom has been partially privatized. Were France Telecom, with 40% ownership is responsible for Telco Jordan management and operations. The government is in the process of privatizing its remaining 41.5% stake. 2004 2007 Change has been driven by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologys National Strategic IT Plan for 2004 - 2007. The policy plan has as its main themes the elimination of monopoly, withdrawal by the Government in favor of a private sector-led market and social and demand development through access to education and increased opportunities. For the telecoms sector, it specifically identified the need for competition to ensure affordable services. Privatization of the governments remaining stake in the incumbent will remove the contradictory government interests of promoting competition whilst holding a stake in the incumbent. Below are few facts driving the telecom industry in the Kingdom of Jordan: Fixed-line numbers are now in decline due to introduction of a substitute, mobile. Alternative operators have acquired licenses but have yet to make much impact. Mostly they intend to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services and compete in the longdistance voice markets, often the first market where an incumbent will lose market share upon market liberalization. The Kingdom of Jordans largest mobile operator Fast link has launched an international calls operator branded Pella, offering up to 60% discounts on some destinations, and is likely to prove a lively competitor. Competition in the mobile market is intense with four operators, leading to much reduced prices. This has in turn led to an explosion in subscriber numbers. Broadband penetration is extremely low although subscriber growth in 2004 was rapid. Jordan Telecom sees IP-based broadband dual and triple play services as the most effective way to give a boost to its declining fixed line business. It has launched VoIP services and also intends to add video services.
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2.2.3 The regulatory environment- Background

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In 1966 the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephony (MoPTT) took over the responsibility for telecom services, which had been operated by the English Giant Cable & Wireless since 1930. In 1971 the Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) was established as a government-controlled entity responsible for providing telecom services. In 1992 The MoPTT was renamed the Ministry of Post and Communications. In1995 as the organization responsible for regulating and monitoring the telecommunications sector and for issuing the necessary license to operators; the TRC was established with the publication of the Telecommunications Law No.13. 2002, the Law was amended (No.13 of 1995, amended by Law No. 8 for the year 2002). The Law separated the regulatory functions from the government and established an independent board of five, full-time commissioners to govern the TRC. The TRC is obligated to supervise the following: Assurance of high quality services to users at just, sensible and affordable prices. Look after consumer interests. Generate a climate of buoyancy for investment in the ICT sector. Motivate competition in the sectors. Plan and adopt terms and conditions and criteria for the granting of licenses. Support self-regulation by the sector. Administer the use of the radio frequency spectrum. Regulate access to telecom networks and environment of interconnection. Institute technical rules, regulations and standards for interconnection. The Ministrys remit includes creating an enabling environment for information, communications technologies (ICT) investment, administration promotion of ICT opportunities in the Kingdom of Jordan and mounting national awareness of the importance of the sector to economic development. The MoICT is accountable for coherent policy in the areas of IT (information technology), telecommunications and post.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
2.2.4 Broadband and Internet in the Kingdom of Jordan

2.2.4.1 Overview
Since 1996 Internet access was introduced in the Kingdom of Jordan. The Jordanian government has a fairly liberal outlook to Internet access, unlike various Arab countries. The government initiatives have been working in the direction of increased computer ownership and Internet use. In Q4-2005, although broadband penetration is very low, growth has been rapid. Approximately 95% of the population had access to Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) or Integrated Digital Services Network (ISDN) services.
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In March 2005, The Kingdom of Jordan Telecom had 12,600 ADSL subscribers, a 400% annual increase with the speedy increase attributed to tariff reductions made during 2004. The operator also had 7,000 leased line broadband subscribers. In 2001, Jordan Telecom commenced Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) offerings, and the market is slowly growing. In October 2004, residential services were launched. As mentioned previously at late2005, residential services were available to 95% of the general population. Batelco Jordan, (a subsidiary of Bahrain Telecom-Batelco) also offers ADSL services to both residential and corporate customers available in downstream bandwidth increments of 128Kb/s, 512Kb/s and 1024Kb/s. A national and international WIFI services was launched in February 2005 by Jordan telecom in conjunction with Wanadoo (French ISP Corporation). In February 2005 Jordan Telecom launched 2.2.4.2 Summary of Internet statistics:
Internet usage is increasing steadily on the other hand dial-up (Narrowband) usage is decreasing, counterbalanced by an increase in prepaid cards and Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL-broadband). Furthermore many users access the Internet via Internet cafes There were approximately 500 Internet cafes in the Kingdom of Jordan in mid-2004, this registers an increase from 170 at end-2001, based on a study conducted in early 2004. A survey of 200 Internet caf users found that the average Internet cafe consumer in the kingdom of Jordan is single, between the ages of 17 and 30, either a student or unemployed and spends around 12 hours a week surfing; based on the same study conducted. Arab Advisors Group expects Internet monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) to decline to reach US$15 by 2010 due to the dramatic decrease in the technology pricing. Therefore, the liberalized market should enable ISPs to expand their services. Finally the Arab advisors Group expects total subscriber numbers to reach 310,000 by 2010. PC penetration, estimated by the ITU at 5.34% as at end-2004, was estimated by the Madar Research Group in mid-2005 to grow to 13.9% by 2008, compared with a regional average of 7%.
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-7 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
(Source: Based on ITU data)
Users 1,000 2,000 27,350 60,800 120,000 127,300 234,000 307,500 444,000 600,000 800,000
Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 2% 2.5% 4.5% 6% 8% 11% 15%
Note: estimates 1995-2004 by ITU.
2.3 The Kingdom of Bahrain 2.3.1 KEY STATISTICS

COUNTRY STATISTICS year 2005 Population 0.7 million, Number of households (2004) 117,000, Land area 665 sq km, Capital Manama, Local currency Bahrain Dinar (BD), GDP US$12.9 billion, GDP per capita at current prices US$16,153, GDP real growth rate 6.9%, Government: Constitutional monarchy. TELECOM REVENUE STATISTICS year 2004 Telecommunications services revenue US$536 million. TELEPHONE NETWORK STATISTICS August 2005 Fixed telephone lines in service 196,500, Fixed-line teledensity 26%.
Table 2-8 : Fixed lines in service and teledensity 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(Aug)
Fixed lines 140,850 144,400 152,300 158,000 165,000 171,000 173,855 175,400 185,800 191,600 196,500
Teledensity 25.1% 25.1% 25.8% 26.1% 26.7% 26.9% 26.7% 26.1% 26.8% 25.9% N/A
(Source: ITU and TRA data)
Major public telecom operator Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco)

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INTERNET USER STATISTICS year 2005 Internet users (e) 154,000, Internet user penetration 22%, Internet subscribers (Aug) 50,000. BROADBAND STATISTICS year 2005 Total broadband subscribers 35,000. MOBILE STATISTICS year 2005 Mobile subscribers 0.82 million, Annual growth 31%, Mobile penetration 117% Major mobile operators Batelco MTC-Vodafone. NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITIES Regulatory authority Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
(Compiled from, CIA factbook, and ITU).
2.3.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

2.3.2.1 Overview of Bahrains telecom market Bahrain has the possibility to become one of the most dynamic telecommunications markets in the Middle East. A new telecommunications law passed in 2002 established an independent regulator and since mid-2004 the market has been largely liberalized. New alternative operators have yet to make much impression on the market but are likely to do so in the future. In addition the market allowing a greater degree of competition, the incumbent operator, Batelco, has a smaller percentage of government ownership than is the case in other countries in the region. Both fixed-line and mobile penetration are high by regional standards. The PSTN market remains a monopoly in 11 out of 16 Arab countries. Five countries, namely, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan have licensed and operational new operators, which have started operations in 2005 and early 2006 (Arab Advisors group, 2006). Mobile penetration is well over 100%, the highest in the region. The Internet market has been static for some years. Batelco has recently reduced the costs and improved speeds in its broadband services, hoping to increase the market. Mobile services were the first area to see competition with a second license awarded in April 2003 to MTC-Vodafone, majority owned by MTC of Kuwait, which started services in December 2003. MTC-Vodafone has positioned itself to compete strongly in the high value customer area with high-speed services, including HSDPA (BUDDECOMM, 2006).
2.3.3 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT- Background

In October 2002 a new Telecommunications Law was passed (Legislative Decree No. 48 of 2002 with respect to telecoms), opening the way for the setting up of a telecommunications regulatory authority and liberalization of the telecommunications market. The law encourages competition by placing special obligations on operators that hold a dominant position in the market. Such operators have been defined as those that are able to act independently, to a material extent, of competitors, subscribers and users in a relevant market. Policy remains the responsibility of the government and is defined by the National Telecommunications Plan.
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The powers and obligations of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) are defined by the Telecommunications Law of 2002. The TRA is intended to be independent of the government, funded by license related fees, service-related fees and fines. It is managed by a five-member board, one of whom is the chairman. Board members are appointed for a period of four years by the Council of Ministers and are protected from arbitrary dismissal except by decree from the King, who must have a valid reason to do so. The TRAs rulings are to have force of law. Specifically, the TRAs responsibilities are to: Monitor and investigate compliance with the telecommunications law; Grant licenses and give final decisions as to applications for licenses; Monitor and enforce compliance with license terms by licensees; Propose and effect modifications to licenses where appropriate; Set and collect license fees, fines and payment for services provided by the Authority; Administer radio frequencies used in telecommunications; Prepare the national numbering plan and assign numbers to licensed operators; Encourage, regulate and facilitate adequate access, interconnection and inter-operability; Monitor and, where required, set tariffs; Approve equipment for connection; Intervene in disputes. From 1 July 2004 all sectors of the Bahraini Communications market were liberalized. New entrants into the market are regulated through licensing. The TRA has defined nine operating sectors and is issuing licenses in eight of these sectors: National fixed service license (NFS); International telecommunications facility license (IFL); International telecommunications services license; Internet Service Provider (ISP) licenses; Value Added Services (VAS) licenses; International facilities licenses; Licenses in the further radio based areas of VSAT, paging and PAMR. As of May 2006, NFS licenses had been awarded to: Batelco, Lightspeed Communications, Etisalcom, Kalam Telecom Bahrain, Mena Telecom, SPC Osos Property Developers (Amwaj Telecom), and 2Connect. Numerous IFL licenses and ISL licenses had also been issued. Competition was introduced in the mobile sector in 2003 with the award of a second license to MTC-Vodafone (BUDDECOMM, 2006).
2.3.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET- Overview

Growth in Internet use in Bahrain appears to have stagnated and, according to ITU statistics, Internet user penetration even declined slightly in 2004. Internet subscriber numbers given by TRA certainly do not indicate any fast growth
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-9 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Source: (ITU, 2005)
Users 2,000 5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 100,000 123,000 150,000 153,000 154,000
Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 5% 6% 15% 18% 22% 21% 22%
Note: Users are those accessing the Internet from their school, university, and work account as well as from their individual household or business accounts. Batelco announced in early 2006 that it aimed to offer broadband to every household in Bahrain by 2008. Batelco launched Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) services in May 2002. Batelco is improving its services, improving both speeds and capacities, aiming at increasing subscriber numbers. Subscribers to Batelcos budget 256Kb/s service would have their maximum downstream speeds doubled to 512Kb/s and their usage threshold increased from 5GB to 8GB per month. Customers of the premium 256Kb/s package would benefit from download speeds of up to 1Mb/s, with a limit of 15GB, and a new package was introduced offering a 20GB threshold with a maximum 2Mb/s downlink. Batelco had around 35,000 high speed subscribers at the end of 2005. Batelco launched WIFI services in April 2004 with initial installations at Bahrain International Airport, Costa Coffee shops in Seef and Adliya, and the Crown Plaza and Gulf Hotel lounges. Service coverage has since been expanded. Internet via satellite Mena broadband services offers broadband services using Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) at speeds from 512Kb/s downlink, 128Kb/s uplink to 4Mb/s downlink, 625Kb/s uplink.
2.3.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

2.3.5.1 Overview of Bahrains mobile market Bahrains mobile market is serviced by two operators offering services on a nationwide basis. Subscriber numbers continue to show signs of strong growth despite a highly-penetrated market, hinting at multiple SIM card ownership by some individuals. The saturated mobile voice market has led to the two mobile operators concentrating on mobile data, content and applications.
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-10 : Mobile subscribers and penetration 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Subscribers Penetration 27,600 5% 40,000 7% 58,500 10% 92,100 15% 133,500 22% 205,700 32% 299,600 46% 390,000 52% 443,100 64% 623,450 92% 816,000 117%
Source: (ITU and Global Mobile data)
Note: 2005 stats from Global Mobile. Arab Advisors put penetration at 106% at end-2005.
2.4 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2.4.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS

COUNTRY STATISTICS year 2005 Population 24.6 million, Number of households (2004) 3.8 million, Land area 2.15 million sq km, Capital Riyadh, Local currency Riyal, GDP US$307.8 billion, GDP per capita at current prices US$13,316, GDP real growth rate 6.5%, Government: Monarchy. Telecom revenue and investment statistics year 2005 Telecommunications services revenue US$9.1 billion, Telecommunications investments (2004) US$1 billion. Telephone network statistics year 2005 Fixed telephone lines in service 3.8 million, Fixed-line teledensity 15.5%, Major public telecom operators Saudi Telecom Company (STC). Internet user statistics year 2004 Internet users 1.59 million, Internet penetration 6.36% Broadband statistics year 2005. ADSL subscribers 52,000 Mobile statistics December year 2005 Mobile subscribers 13.5 million, Annual growth 47.7%, Mobile penetration 50.6%, Major mobile operators Saudi Telecom Company (STC) mobily Bravo National telecommunications authorities Regulatory authority Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) (Compiled from ITU, and CIA factbook)
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2.4.2 Telecommunications market in Saudi Arabia

2.4.2.1 Overview of Saudi Arabia's telecom market. Saudi Arabia is the biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In 2005, due to the world oil crises, the value of Saudi oil exports climbed by over 50% to more than US$160 billion and total GDP climbed from approximately US$250 billion to over US$300 billion. This contrasts with the situation five years ago, when oil revenues were less than US$40 billion. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is adapting, reforming and opening up to the world. There was a significant change with the Kingdoms strategies for liberalization after King Abdullah was announced as the ruler. Saudi Arabia joined the globalization movement when, for instance in 2005, they won admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) after twelve years of negotiations. Moreover, economic reforms have been undertaken and this has extended to the telecommunications sector. Both the data and mobile markets have been liberalized, with the award of licenses in October 2003 for Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services and in August 2004 to provide mobile and data Communications services. The government, under the guidance of King Abdullah, also aims to open the fixed-line sector to competition by end2006. Such a move will be the first in the region, since no other neighboring countries have such a deadline. A second license wil be auctioned to compete with the incumbent Saudi Telecom Company (STC). STCs monopoly has been the reason for high prices but the presence of competition has already had a considerable benefit. The Saudi Arabian government has continued with the liberalization of the telecommunications sector since the passing of the Telecommunications Act in 2001. Rules of procedure for the regulatory body, the Communications & Information Technology Commission (CITC), have been passed and developments have occurred in the licensing process for mobile networks. Requests for applications were issued on 18 April 2004 for the second GSM license and third-generation (3G) data license, and bids were submitted eight international consortiums. On the same note a third mobile license is also planned for 2006. The second GSM mobile operator, an Etisalat-led consortium operating as Mobily. The majority of Mobily shares are owned by Etisalat, a United Arab Emirates telecommunications company. They launched services in May 2005 after strong competition with local operators such as MTC, Wataniya, Batelco, and international operators such as Vodafone. It also has rapidly acquired subscribers due to an innovative marketing strategy. An Integrated Dispatched Enhanced Network (IDEN) operator, Bravo, also launched services shortly afterwards. The mobile market is growing very quickly and mobile connections already account for over 75% of all telephone services. Internet penetration is comparatively low due to the Kingdoms wide land area and relatively low population density. Competition is allowed in the Internet Service Provider (ISP) market but all ISPs must be licensed. All Internet connections are routed through a hub that blocks access to websites deemed to be offensive. Broadband penetration is also low as cable broadband is non-existent and Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) has been hampered by distance limitations.
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Despite the fact that growth is fast, mobile penetration is relatively low in Saudi Arabia compared to other countries which have a similar GDP per capita. Consequently, this has raised regional and worldwide interest in media and telecommunications due to the third mobile license tendering six months ahead of its likely award date. On the same note Saudi Arabias broadband market grew by 174% in 2005. ADSL 512Kbps was finally introduced. Saudi Arabias ADSL supply limitations seem to be easing. Saudi Telecom was able to decrease the high ADSL line rejection rates and the operator has also decreased its monthly fee for ADSL lines by 17% to help increase market growth. All this helped boost the broadband market to reach 64,000 lines by April 2006, a19% growth rate in four months.
Table 2-11 : ADSL subscribers (2002-April 2006)
Subscribers (000s) Added Subscribers (000s) Growth % ADSL as a % of Internet accounts

Source: (STC, ISPs 2005).
2002 2003 2004 2005 April 2006 1.75 8 20 54 64 7 11 34 10 380% 135% 174% 19% 0.4% 1.2% 2.1% 4.0% 4.4%
Moreover, in the previous year accelerating ADSL market growth in the Kingdom lead to a jump of ADSL subscribers from a minimal 8,000 in 2003 to 19,708 subscribers in 2004, translating into a 135% growth. This figure more than doubled in the next year reaching 54,000 subscribers in 2005: a 174% growth. The broadband market further grew by 19% in the first 4 months of the year adding 10,000 ADSL lines. ADSL subscribers constituted 4.4% of total Internet accounts in April 2006. Exhibit 1 shows the growth in the ADSL subscriber base. (Arab Advisors group, 2005)
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Table 2-12 : Monthly ADSL charges
Competition is also intensifying in Saudi Arabias data market. Integrated Telecom Co (ITC), one of two operators awarded a license in August 2004 to provide public data Communications services in competition with STC, is making substantial infrastructure investments. The combined effect of these extra players as well as the services of the four VSAT license holders is resulting in tariff reductions in the business and residential broadband markets. In addition STC has committed to considerable much needed infrastructure improvements, especially for its international routes. Revenues have been high: in 2005 Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for fixed-line services was US$48 and US$46 for mobile services. 2.4.2.2 Broadband and Internet market. In Saudi Arabia Internet access has been available since 1994, however it was restricted to state academic, medical, and research institutions until January 1999. All Internet traffic and connections were routed through the King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), it was the gateway for all legitimate Internet access in the kingdom. Widespread use of the Internet has been curbed by excessive access rates and slow connection speeds, although the cost of access fell by approximately 50% between 2002 and 2006. Below, the table illustrates the total ADSL charges per year. The yearly ISP charges range from a low US$ 320 per year to a high US$ 1629, depending on the speed chosen. Since the introduction of ADSL, Saudi Telecom still charges US$ 80 as an activation fee for the service. STC also charges a fixed monthly fee for using the phone line; ADSL subscribers pay an amount ranging from US$ 24 to US$ 32 per month for their ADSL phone bill for unlimited usage of Internet, depending on the ADSL speed.
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Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-13 : ADSL Charges May (2006)
Source: (STC, 2006)
PC penetration in the Kingdom is a major driver of Internet penetration. Consequently, the Saudi regulator, the CITC, has initiated a plan to encourage around one million additional Saudi families to own a computer before 2008. In May 2005, CITC signed a number of agreements with several companies participating in the Home Computing Initiative, such as: STC, National Commercial Bank, Microsoft (provider of OS and desk-top applications), Zai of Alfaisaliah Group (PC manufacturer), Alkhaleej- NewHorizon (Training provider), Alaalamiah (Training provider), AwalNet (Internet Service Provider), Nesma (Internet Service Provider), Harf (Provider of free Arabic and Islamic software applications). This step is expected to enhance the economic productivity of the ICT sector. Selling under the initiative began in the first week of October 2005. In December 14, 2005 (two months later), the total number of PCs sold through the initiative amounted to 9,000 PCs. The initiative offers easy monthly installments of US$ 27 for a period of two years. It also offers free Internet hours and training courses with each PC (Arab Advisors, 2005).
2.5 Kuwait 2.5.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS.

Country statistics Kuwait year 2005 Population 3 million, Number of households (2004) 0.49 million, Land area 17,820 sq km Capital Kuwait City, Local currency Kuwaiti Dinar, GDP US$74.6 billion, GDP per capita at current prices US$26,020, GDP real growth rate 8.5%, Government: Hereditary Emirate. Telecom revenue statistics year 2004 Telecommunications services revenue US$2.07 billion Telephone network statistics year 2005 Fixed telephone lines in service 0.7 million, Fixed-line teledensity 64%, Major public telecom operator Ministry of Communications Internet user statistics year 2005 Internet users (e) 0.7 million, Internet penetration 25% Broadband statistics year 2005 ADSL broadband subscribers (e) 25,000
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Mobile statistics year 2005 Mobile subscribers 2.38 million, Annual growth 15%, Mobile penetration 99%, Major mobile operators MTC-Vodafone National Mobile Telecommunications Co National telecommunications authorities Regulatory authority Ministry of Communications (MOC)
(Compiled from, ITU forum and CIA factbook)
2.5.2 Overview of Kuwait:

Kuwait has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $50 billion USD for 2004, a 19.9% increase from 2003. The country's key industrial sectors like oil and gas, finance and telecommunications have been using advanced ICT systems for planning and management. In addition, these resources allow access to the Internet or private intranets. Kuwait, which is holding approximately 10% of the worlds oil reserves, is the third largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. However, Kuwait lacks a cohesive and detailed national information and communications technology (ICT) strategy. Although a comprehensive national IT plan exists, it is of a general nature and lacking a timeline. Thus, progress in ICT has been generally slow. However, its electronic government project has clearly defined goals and far reaching objectives in terms of delivering services online. (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, 2004)
Figure 2-2 : Kuwait information Society Milestones
Source: (UNITED NATIONS Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, 2005)
Table 2-14 : General Tele-Communications use in Kuwait
Madar Populations telecomm use in the Arab world 3 2.75 Million

Source: Madar Research group
Internet users
Telephone mainline 500,000
Mobile subscribers 2,109,000
590,00
Today the country has the third highest ICT Use Index (1.32 in 2004) in the Arab world, trailing United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain according to the latest Arab ICT Use Index study by Madar Research Group. The index gauges progress on tele-density and the use
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of PCs and the Internet, thus providing an indicator on the relative technology-adoption rate among Arab countries. Kuwait also has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the Arab world and is one of the most aggressive adopters of broadband technology.
Table 2-15 : Kuwaits Participation in Global Intellectual Property Bodies and Treaties
Entity/Treaty World Trade Organization (WTO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Paris Convention WIPO Copyright Treaties (WCT) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Madrid Agreement Hague Agreement Trademarks Law Treaty (TLT) Patent Law Treaty Nairobi Treaty TRIPS
Source: (INSEAD, 2005)
Signatory Yes (1995) Yes No Yes (1998) No No No No No No Yes-not active- (1995)
Kuwaits telecom sector has been engaged in a long transition period from monopoly to competition. Similar to many Gulf and Middle Eastern countries, Kuwaits telecom industry is a traditional monopoly, with the Ministry of Communications (MoC) serving as the country's telecommunications regulator and also controlling the solitary fixed line network in the country. A appearance of an open, competitive telecom market in other words duopoly was adopted in the late 1990s when the government opened its mobile-GSM market to a second player in an open bid. The move was followed by a motivated five-year Privatization Plan declared in July 2001, which was similar in fundamental nature to pitch made by the government in the past. Also in June 2002, the MoC announced plans for legislation that would surface the way for the privatization of the countrys fixed line operations during the course of the year. This, however, did not materialize and is now expected to pass in 2007 instead. Due to the frequent changes in the top level of the ministry, -3 ministers in the part 1 year- It is clear that these privatization plans and schedules are running off course. On the other hand, if the privatization of the telecom sector is any indicator, then it is fair to conclude that the actual, strategic execution of the plans is significantly lagging behind schedule. Kuwaits GSM operators are Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC-Vodafone) and Wataniya Telecommunications Company. The government of Kuwait maintains 25 percent equity in MTC-vodafone. MTC-vodafone maintained monopoly of the GSM market from 1983 when it was established to 1999, when Wataniya was approved the license to operate a second GSM network. The Internet services provider (ISP) sector in Kuwait is semicompetitive and remains closely monitored and strongly regulated by the MoC. The four major ISPs and 4 sub-ISPs in Kuwait are required to adhere to a series of strict regulations distributed and frequently reviewed by the MoC, if not they face the penalty of their licenses being revoked or cancelled.
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As mentioned in the introduction Kuwait is connected to other Gulf States via the Fibre Optic Gulf (FOG) link, in which the MOC is a shareholder. FOG is part of the FibreOptic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the SEAME- WE-2 and 3 submarine cable networks. There are also two 2.5 GB/s terrestrial fibre optic cable links Kuwait with Saudi Arabia from two different boarder points, and a similar cable with 10 GB/s capacity links Kuwait City with Iran. Kuwait recent joined Oman, Egypt, Bahrain, India and Qatar in purchasing US$27.4 million of capacity on FLAG Telecoms FALCON fibre optic cable in April 2005 in a questionable move. The resilient loop system would have multiple landings in the Gulf region, including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain, and incorporate submarine links to Egypt in the west and Hong Kong in the east. The Gulf ring of Falcon would initially support 40 GB/s of traffic, upgradeable to 1,280 GB/s. Satellite Communications are provided by 3 Intelsat earth stations (1 Atlantic Ocean region, 2 Indian Ocean region), (1 Inmarsat earth station (Atlantic Ocean region) and 2 Arabsat earth stations).
2.5.3 Broadband and Internet market.

In June 2005 and after several iterations, and project amendments the MOC awarded Siemens and Alcatel a contract to upgrade the access network from copper to fibre in thirty residential areas. The Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) network would be terminated using Ethernet interfaces for not only standard telephony but also triple play services (voice, video, and media). The network rollout is scheduled to take place over three years in several phases plan with the first users connected in early 2006; unfortunately the project is still under testing.
Table 2-16 : Internet user and penetration estimates 1995 - 2005
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
(Source: ITU, 2005)
Users 3,500 15,000 42,000 60,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 567,000 600,000 700,000
Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 5% 7% 9% 11% 23% 24% 25%
Note: Users are those accessing the Internet from their school, university, work account as well as from their individual household or business accounts. In the state of Kuwait all of the ISPs have their own backbone and DSL infrastructure not even that but even their own international gateways. Zajil Telecom, Qualitynet, FAST Telecommunications and United Networks offer Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) services for both the residential and corporate markets. Zajil Telecom offers ADSL for limited home users though. Prices are relatively high by international standards but there have been recent promotions and reductions. As for the broadband wireless services, MTC-Vodafone provides post-paid access to a number of WiFi hotspots powered by Zajil Telecom with speeds of up to 8Mb/s; also its
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currently providing broadband over edge technology, and testing its 3G service. Zajil had over 50 hotspots as at early 2006 in cafes, stores and university campuses. Qualitynet has over 150 hotspots providing Internet over WiFi. Wataniya Telecom, together with the Red Carpet Company and Smart Link Telecom, launched WiFi services in April 2006.
2.6 Outlining the broadband drivers and obstacles in the region

From the data discussed in Chapter 2 well be deriving the broadband driver and obstacles for the sample of the countries picked from the region categorized in the following manner: political, economical, social, and technological broadband drivers and obstacles. Well also include Kuwait in the analysis based on the data discussed in Chapter 2. This will enable us to compare it with the actual driver and obstacles of the broadband service based on the interviews which will be analyzed in Chapter 4.
2.6.1 Political drivers and obstacles

In general the countries which were analyzed in Chapter 2 have an established political environment. The ruling families in Jordan, Saudi, Bahrain and Kuwait, also the government in the republic of Iran are all stable and have been in charge for at least 30 years in the case of Iran, and 300 years in the case of Bahrain and Kuwait. Almost the entire selected segment has an independent regulatory body, accept Kuwait, which I believe would be a strong obstacle for the development of its telecommunications sector in general and broadband in particular. Furthermore, the risk of military invasion is minor. Given that the regulatory bodies in the selected segment are neutral, I believe the force of the internal pressure groups will be non-significant, apart from Kuwait which as mentioned doesnt have an independent regulator. In my opinion the internal pressure groups will be a burden. There was a confrontation in the republic of Iran with the Turkish mobile operator Turkcell; it was believed of that Turkcell was disqualified owing to political reasons. Despite the fact that the selected segment markets are regulated, the level of deregulation is still in its infancy and yet to scale up to Western Europe, or eastern Asia (South Korea, Japan, and Singapore)
2.6.2 Economical drivers and obstacles

By and large the selected segment includes oil rich countries with the exception of the Kingdom of Jordan; therefore the raise in oil prices and the healthy returns on oil products resulted in large budgets for most of the regional countries. A considerable amount of the oil revenues are utilized in upgrading the infrastructure. As a result international IT, and communications companies started launching offices in the region, for example Cisco systems used to have only one office to support the gulf region located in Dubai -UAE, yet in 2005 Cisco systems launched new offices in Bahrain, Saudi, Qatar, and Kuwait. Furthermore, the high mobile subscribers figures- Bahrain 106% mobile penetration, UAE 99% mobile penetration, Kuwait 99% mobile penetration, Saudi 60.5% mobile penetration, Jordan 91.6% market growth, Iran 128% market growth- in the region is a strong indicator that the people living in the region have a large amount of disposable income. Although the prices of broadband are falling, broadband prices are still relatively high.
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2.6.3 Social drivers and obstacles

It is hard to derive the social aspects of the drivers and obstacles of broadband in the region, given that figures and statistics are not a very good indicator of social behavior. Nevertheless we can derive that the region is open for foreign investors, in my point of view Kuwaitis have accepted Batelco to enter the market as a join venture in Qualitynet. What's more is Saudis have accepted Etisalat, an UAE communications company, to enter its mobile arena. Moreover, Bahrain have accepted MTC-Kuwait to be the second mobile operator in the Kingdom. Also Iran has opened its doors to South Africas mobile operator, and finally Jordan have welcomed the following international companies France-Telecom, MTC, and Batelco. Therefore I believe that the citizens will not oppose subscribing to foreign companies. There are several events to support broadband in the region; GiTEX in Dubai is considered a pioneer exhibition in the fields of IT and communications. There are also several initiatives from the communications vendors where they stage special events and roadshows in the region to create broadband awareness. On the other hand, the market penetration and growth rate of broadband is not as it should be in the region.
2.6.4 Technological drivers and obstacles

Most of the selected segment is aware of the technological impact, referring to Table1 in Chapter 1. There was an allocation for most of the new and old technologies to co-exist. For example, most of the regional countries can still maintain old wireless frequencies which do not support broadband- while reserving the other segments for newer broadband wireless technologies. The above does not apply to Kuwait since the wireless segments are not organized, thus there will be an overlap, and interference. Moreover in a country like Bahrain, the strategy of Broadband Bahrain (BB-Bahrain) was formulated in 2005, and thus all the companies are lining up to serve the master vision, while in Kuwait ISPs are promoting broadband via DSL technology, the MoC are promoting broadband via Gigabit passive optical network (GPoN) fiber to the home project (Ftth) which will cannibalize the DSL, and finally the mobile operators are driving broadband via mobile phones which they not licensed for. Therefore, although the broadband technology is available in different forms, and the technology is proven worldwide (except the GPoN technology) in some countries technologies are not used efficiently. There has been a strong move in rebuilding the existing networks, since the technologies are becoming cheaper, thus more cost effective for both carriers and consumers.
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3.Chapter 3: Research design and methodology.
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3.1 Introduction 3.2 Problem Statement

"Broadband" refers to a type of network connection that supports a very high bit rate, as opposed to "narrowband," which supports a lower bit rate. The higher the bit rate, which is a measure of speed of transmission of bits per second (bps), the faster the transmission will occur in a given period of time. "Bandwidth" is a measure of capacity. Greater bandwidth allows more information to be communicated in a given period of time. Broadband media services delivery requires transmitting large amounts of information quickly, so the combination of fast broadband transmissions and large amounts of bandwidth required to deliver information are the foundation of broadband media services delivery. But this is just the beginning of the broadband media services story. The true value of broadband media services lies in the actual services that can be delivered across these high-speed, highbandwidth networks and the entirely new "on demand" way that customers will access them and the customized and personalized manners in which individuals will interact with these services. With that in mind, we can formulate a definition of broadband media services: Broadband is where the future of communications is heading since almost all of the communications services will demand a higher bandwidth (throughput), services such a TV, Video, Telephony, Internet and triple play services. In addition, generally speaking all of the communications services are merging and they are complementing each other in a bandwidth hungry environment. For instance, we are in the final stages of a breakthrough where, with the same mobile phone the consumer can switch to his home setting (wired fixed phone) if he is at home, or to WIFI/WIMAX wireless mode if he is semi-moving (called nomad mode) or switch to his more expensive mobile coverage. Therefore, the service can be network independent. In the current stage this is impossible because the consumer needs to subscribe to 2 different companies (mobile company & ISP for Internet) and the MoC for a fixed line. Moreover, all three (2 companies and MoC) have to have their main office integrate with the other (Billing system, and applications) which is at present impossible. In broad outline, investment in broadband infrastructure in Kuwait is following two widely differing models. Traditional Ministry of Communications (Incumbent) is installing fiber as the biggest project in Ministry of Communications this year devoid of the assurance that the Ministry of Communications can control the cost of the project or even manage the platform which the fiber network will carry. Mobile telecommunications companies and Internet service providers (ISPs) are installing fiber as well for their own and customer use. As well as this they are deploying next generation wireless networks to carry broadband services with the objective of attracting all possible users/customers to which they will deliver applications and services. These services will be in direct competition with the newly installed MoC network. This will create confusion where there will be tough non-regulated competition in Kuwait. Therefore, looking at the matter from different angles, Kuwaits current situation cant cope with the communications advancements despite the availability of huge financial resources and the access budget for year 2005. This being due to the dramatic rise of oil prices, especially since the Middle East is the fastest growing region in the field of communications according to Alcatel 2005 marketing presentation.
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From another perspective, problems will in all probability arise because broadband technologies are operating in a regulatory vacuum. Today, there are no plans to ensure that broadband will be affordable. There are no enforcement measures to ensure that broadband networks are open and transparent, there is no plan to maximize the provision of unlicensed wireless broadband services and there is no guarantee that ISPs have the right to deploy broadband services for their consumers. This policy vacuum creates uncertainty, stunts innovation, and depresses both the demand and supply of broadband services. In the same perspective, broadband services will not be a commodity; it will be a must if the Kuwait government is serious about the near future plan of being the Gulfs financial center. In view of the fact that both financial and communications sectors go hand in hand, broadband generates great benefits to Kuwait and to the Kuwaiti citizen. Those countries that have done well in promoting broadband subscriptions, have done well because of active government policies for the development of broadband, Lara Srivastava, telecom policy analyst for the Geneva-based ITU, which is part of the United Nations. In my opinion broadband services are already knocking on Kuwait doors but there are two cable companies who cant deliver the service due to the current obstacles. Kuwait GDP is very high at US$74.6 billion plus Kuwait is a country with relatively high Purchasing Power Parity, which marks Kuwaiti citizens & residents out as highly demanding people. In addition, in reference to a Services Marketing lecture delivered in KMBS-2006, by Dr. Nabeel Al-Hillali. 67% of the Kuwaiti residence income is spent on services, therefore Kuwait has a service driven economy. In Chapter 4 there are clearer explanations for the problem, and through out the research conducted we can identify the stockholders responsibility toward the development of Kuwait in the communications sector.
3.3 Research Objective

The overall objective of the thesis is to identify the main drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband, in developing a knowledge based, service driven economy for Kuwait. The research results will help government regulators and other stakeholders to better identify the challenges that need to be addressed with regard to broadband enabled forms of business, working and public services as well as related challenges and initiatives. The research is neither aimed at solving the problem, nor to recommend solutions. Bringing the stakeholders in the field of telecommunications in Kuwaits point of view of the current environment will, in my opinion, identify the gaps between different sectors. Hence it will be less problematic for the decision makers to identify the current drivers and obstacles linked to the broadband service. What's more, it will give readers a feeling for the conditions of regulatory bodies and broadband technology/service in the regional countries. The research and the analysis will involve different sectors (Government, Academic, and private) covering social, technical, political and economic matters. The results of the research will derive a final analysis with regard to the drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband in Kuwait.
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3.4 Methodological framework.

The research will be based on a qualitative method. Therefore, it will be based on one to one, semi-structured interviews with the people who are dealing with the current situation. It will be based on explorative study. Explorative studies are a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to asses phenomena in a new light. (Robson, 2002:59). One of three principle ways to conduct exploratory research is by talking to experts in the subject by conducting an interview. An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people. (Kahan and Cannel, 1957). The use of interviews will help in gathering valid and reliable data which are relevant to the research question and objectives. Such interviews may perhaps instigate a number of data quality issues related to reliability, forms of bias, validity and extrapolation of findings. Qualitative data characteristics: Qualitative data will be based on meanings expressed through words. Collection report is non-standardized data requiring classification into categories. Analysis conducted though use of conceptualization. The analysis of qualitative data involves a demanding process and should not be seen as an easy option. Yin (1994) In this particular research the use of qualitative research interviews as a method of data collection may be advantageous due to the following facts: The significance of establishing personal contacts; since managers are more likely to agree to be interviewed rather than filling a questioner. The nature of the questions; where the questions are complex and the problem cannot be understood or addressed by the public. Length of time required and completeness of the process. The nature of the approach to the research; since the questioner will generate discussion, and will necessitate probing.
3.4.1 Major research question

This research will mainly focus on the broadband drivers and obstacles in Kuwait, focusing on four major broadband issues: 1. Technical drivers and obstacles 2. Broadband Political drivers and obstacles 3. Broadband Economical drivers and obstacles 4. Broadband Social drivers and obstacles
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Expected broadband Technical drivers: Deployment of the GPON project in MoC Deployment of wireless broadband services Deployment of ADSL Broadband service since 2000. Expected broadband Technical obstacles: Lack of technical standards. Lacks procedures and experience in commercializing innovations Lack of knowledge for the latest technology development Expected broadband Political drivers: The objective of positioning Kuwait as Middle East financial center. Expected broadband Political obstacles: Conflicting goals. Defensive attitude. Lack of political leadership. Regulation/de-regulation of the communications sector. Expected broadband Economical drivers: Access in year 2005 budget due to the raise of Oil prices. Relatively high per capita GDP. Service driven economy. Expected broadband Economical obstacles: Unclear how services provided correspond to citizen needs, as structured investigations of needs/requirements are not made. Lack of economic incentives, Investment comes first payback comes when? One year budget strongly guiding the behavior. Unclear how to share development costs that benefit more than one stakeholder. Expected broadband Social drivers and obstacles: When a new technology, product or service emerges, individuals evaluate both its economic profitability and other variables - degree of risk, decrease in discomfort, savings in time and effort, immediacy of rewards. The concept of relative advantage is very similar to the idea of perceived usefulness of the technology, as put forward by the technology acceptance framework. In particular, perceived usefulness identifies the subjective probability that using a specific technology would increase one individuals job performance (Davis, 1989).
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The research question was formalized based on my personal observations of the telecommunications sectors advancement in the region in general & Kuwait in particular. Due to my involvement in several meetings with representatives from STC (Saudi Telecom Company), Batelco (Bahrain Telecom Company), Etisalat (UAE Telecom Company), Qtel (Qatar telecomm Company), Batelco Jordan (A private company owned by Batelco based in the Kingdom of Jordan). Also, based on the obstacles faced in the past 10 years from a private Kuwaiti communications company, it has been noticed that each stakeholder is paddling in different directions although we are all in the same boat. By sharing the point of view, ideas, feelings, plans and so forth, of different sectors dealing with the same problem, I might be able to narrow the telecommunications gap by focusing on the future of broadband communications.
3.4.2 Limitations
Since interviews will play a large part of the research and also according to the timetable the interviews will be conducted during the summer period. Based on the fact that during the summer time in Kuwait, almost all of the upper management in the private sector and ministries are on vacation outside of Kuwait. Thus it may be problematic to get in contact with the desired people. To overcome this obstacle I have had to list the potential managers, undersecretaries, & GMs and then arrange for the meetings in accordance with their leave schedule. Another barrier that might face the research is the Ramadan period where the productivity usually decreases; also it can be difficult to locate the required people for interviews. Usually, the upper managers are often difficult to meet, due to time limitations, meetings are sometimes spontaneous, and therefore some meetings might be canceled, or rescheduled. Thus organizing meetings can be complicated to conduct. A management culture, especially in the Ministry of Communications where this makes one exceptionally tied to beliefs which, revolve around the precept that all services need to be delivered by the ministry and that the private sector is not providing value for money. (This argument has been encountered several times). Also the private sector managers may have subjective responses since this particular subject affects their companys revenue, and thus their future in the company. Literature and articles on the Middle East in general and Kuwait in particular are rare, therefore I have tried to contact major vendors in the area such as Alcatel, and Cisco to try to get as much information as possible. Regrettably, secondary data will have been collected for a specific purpose that differs from the research question(s) or objectives. (Denscombe, 1998). Consequently, some data that is collected may be less appropriate to the research question. Interviewer and interviewee bias will be an obstacle and is mostly associated with the way the interview is conducted. In order to minimize bias, discussion points should be considered such as, the interviewers preparation and readiness, the level of information supplied to the interviewee, the interviewers approach to the questions, the interviewers ability to display attentive listening skills.
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3.5 Research design

The size of the target sample will be, in my opinion, ideal for the target population since they are an elite group. They are the managers facing the problems day in day out whether they are government officials such as the Ministry of communications, private sector players such as Qualitynet, public owned pioneers such as MTC (Mobile telecom Company) or Academic Institutions such as K.U. (Kuwait University). There are two variables being researched. The drivers and the obstacles involved in broadband. Each variable is further broken down into four segments: political, social, economical, and technological. The time available for the data collection is short, especially since when the summer vacation ended, Ramadan started, thus we have a relatively short time to cover the subject. Particularly given that the data collection method used will be one on one interviews.
3.5.1 Target population sampling

The interviews will be conducted with upper management individuals from the private sector, the public sector (Ministry of Communications mainly), and academic institutions. The size of the segment will be approximately seven senior post managers distributed as per the following: Ministry of Communications: o Minister consultant: Engineer, Adel Al-Ebrahim. o Retired under-minister: Engineer, Nabel Al-Salamah o Under-Minister: Engineer, Samah Yaqoub o GPoN project Manager: Mr. Khalid Al-Azmi ISPs o GM Operations: Engineer, Salem Al-Mulaifi
Mobile companies o Manager, Product development: Engineer, Munawer AlKhatrash Academic o
Communications Dr. from Kuwait University faculty: Dr. Adel Jumah
People participating in the interviews need to hold senior positions in their respective organizations. Furthermore, they need to have a direct relationship with the subject. For instance, a financial manager will affix minimal value where as an operational manager will be more constructive towards the research.
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3.5.2 Data collection instrument and source

During the research the data was collected via indirect sources. In Chapter two the main focus was on the telecommunications environment of selected countries in the region surrounding Kuwait, and the telecommunications (mainly broadband) environment in Kuwait. The data was collected from indirect data sources such as official statistical material e.g. quarterly and annual report periodicals. In addition to this scientific publications from international bodies e.g. ITU and research group reports e.g. Arab advisors, Madar research group were also used. In Chapter 2 the data collection method changed into personal interviews, involving faceto-face interaction that enables probing, repetition and clarification. It also enables the interviewer to establish a rapport with the respondent, allowing the interviewer to observe as well as listen, besides which the respondent is free to respond at length in their own words. This permits more complex questions to be asked than in other types of data collection. The main objective of the interview is to be able to obtain answers to all the questions asked, allowing for the right of the interviewee to respond to any question. Overcoming the interviewer and interviewee bias is always a challenge.
3.6 Data Analysis methods

While numbers depends on meaning, its not always the case that meaning is dependent on number. (Dey, 1993:28). The characteristics of qualitative data has proposition for both its collection and its analysis. Hence to be able to derive the richness and comprehensiveness of the qualitative data, it is difficult to collect it in a standardized fashion as is the case with quantitative data. Analyzing the qualitative data will begin at the same time as collecting the data over and above afterwards. The data collection, data analysis, and the development and verification of relationship and conclusions are very much an interconnected and interactive set of processes. The interactive nature of the data collection and analysis will allow the recognition of important themes, patterns, and relationships while collecting the data. It is also worthwhile to allow enough time between interviews to give adequate time for writing up of notes, and analysis before proceeding with the next data collection session. During and after research, the data will be classified into meaningful categories that may be derived from the collected data. The main four categories are political drivers and obstacles, economical drivers and obstacles, sociological drivers and obstacles, and finally technological drivers and obstacles.
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4.Chapter 4: Data Analysis, findings and discussion.
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4.0 Introduction
In this chapter we will present the findings of our empirical study. We have classified the data into meaningful categories that may be derived from the collected data. After each interview the data was analyzed, and a sufficient amount of time was given between each interview, sequentially the predisposition and partiality was minimize, then interims will focus more on analyzing each interview separately. In my point of view to make the chapter easier to follow, and to communicate the answers to the research in a clear manner, the chapter is broken down to four categories and each category will be analyzed and discussed separately. The four categories will be based on the interview questions concerning: political drivers and obstacles, economical drivers and obstacles, social drivers and obstacles, and finally technological drivers and obstacles for the broadband in Kuwait. The interviewees were very enthusiastic about the subject, they are all keen to see broadband blossom, according to their understandings since each interviewee looks at the matter from his own perspective. It was noticed that each interviewee tackles the issue from their angle, in accordance to their position in the telecommunications equation; be it government sector, private sector or academic. It was unambiguous that in the end with no exceptions, all wanted to see a greater benefit to the country.
4.1 Political Obstacles

The political aspect is a very intricate subject in Kuwait, since the political scene is controlled by several variables. It is believed that most of the political instability is as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. As a result, most of the attention was given to the countrys internal and external security rather than the countrys development. Such extensive attention lead to the underdevelopment of the telecommunications sector. It also lead to the absence of any telecommunications regulations/deregulation. To make sure that the government was always in control and not giving any opportunities to infiltrators, the government used its influence to control the telecommunications sector. In 1998 the Kuwaiti government discovered its mistake in not developing the telecommunications sector, so it held an auction for the Internet license in Kuwait. Qualitynet a private company won the license; as a result Qualitynet brought the first broadband public access network to Kuwait in 2000. Despite the fact that the government was heading toward privatization, the Kuwaiti government made a huge mistake by providing licenses to private companies and investors without creating the right environment in terms of regulation/deregulation, a clear working model, and a fair competitive environment. In time this lead to the creation of carriers with different licenses, a bizarre mix of companies, and a vague license scheme. For example, Fast Telco paid 15 million Kuwaiti Dinars to get a license in a closed envelope bid, whereas Qualitynet only paid 3.2 million. 3.2 million was also paid by Qnet while KEMS, United Network and Al-Arabia Telecom got theirs for free. On the other hand, the government sold its share in MTC, thus MTC was owned by the public. Wataniya was also offered to public. Unfortunately, the minister responsible was changed three times in 12 months, and what made it worse was that none of the three ministers had a telecommunications background. Bearing in mind that the power was given to inexperienced ministers to make
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decisions on behalf of the government in a very sensitive sector. In view of the fact that there are no regulations, and there are no rules or mechanisms to govern broadband in Kuwait, any changes at any level of the MoC will directly effect telecommunications in general and broadband in particular. Mr. Salem had added that an incident had occurred, where, due to the fact that the superintendent position of the customer complaints section in the MoC was changed Qualitynet staff were restricted from entering the MoC exchange. As a result broadband services to consumers were on hold for 7 days before the problem was resolved. In some cases, the MoC plays the role of the service provider and the moderate regulatory body. For example, the MoC has given the license to sell Internet for four major ISPs as mentioned in the previous paragraph. On the other hand the MoC is competing with the ISPs and they are poaching the ISPs major customers. The governments processes will be an obstacle; even the right decisions may be blocked due to government routines. No experienced MoC staff formulates the tariffs and some tariffs appear not to make sense such as ISDN & E1 tariffs, hence there are no tariff regulations. Furthermore, the MoC is supplier driven. They are neither technology nor service driven. Moreover, the MoC is progressing since the vendors asked them to upgrade. Given that the regulator role is minimal, there is no protection for the ISPs. Therefore, the ISPs are vulnerable to the mobile carriers attacks. For example currently MTC and Wataniya are offering mobile broadband Internet for 11 KD a month. First the mobile carriers are neither licensed to carry or to sell Internet, second the price is extremely competitive which might drive ISPs out of business. A major neglected point is there is no environmental body to regulate & monitor the environmental impact of these communications, especially wireless. ISPs and mobile service providers erect their towers, devoid of even minor supervision from any regulatory body. The fact of the matter is there are several beneficiaries of the current situation. In Dr. Adels opinion the prevalent beneficiaries are the owners of the mobile telecommunications companies and the owners of the ISPs. They do not wish for the market to be deregulated in order for them to maintain their status, and minimize the competition. Thus, the beneficiaries are forming local pressure groups against the government lead by major families such as AlGhanim, Al-Khorafi, and Al-Sabah. In other words the private owners of the ISPs are controlling the market, and they are trying to influence the political decisions through their presence in the parliament and chamber of commerce or by using economical pressure according to Dr. Adel. Regrettably Kuwait University and the academic faculty have no direct role on the development of broadband says Dr. Adel. Although there is a current comity between Kuwait University and the MoC; however the comity is idle, and has no authorities. Obviously there is no clear vision from the government on where they want to drive broadband services in Kuwait. There are no clear plans on how to prepare for the WTO since Kuwait had been delaying it since the GAT 3 agreement. This makes investors struggle to set long term plans. Currently Kuwait has more than nine core networks owned by different entities, for example each of the following entities has its own core network:
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The MoC has more than four core networks. MTC Wataniya Qualitynet FastTelco KEMS United Networks The Ministry of Defense Kuwait Oil Company
4.2 Political Drivers

The political scene in Kuwait is firm; the ruling family of Kuwait has been in charge of the country since the late eighteenth century. During this reign there have been no revolutions since the Kuwaiti people assigned the ruling family. Yet Kuwait is geographically and strategically vulnerable. There is always a fear of aggressive neighbors shown clearly by the instability in Iraq, and political unrest in Iran coupled with a long history of mistrust between Kuwait & Iran. Even during the establishment of telecommunications links between both countries major obstacles were faced says Mr. Samah. Kuwait joining the WTO in 1995 is by itself a major broadband driver, seeing as how such an initiative will necessitate the privatization of the telecommunications sector. Besides the fact that if it this is organized and planned properly, it will come to lead by creating strong organic companies. These will be the first line of defense in facing globalization. Since 1998 the private sector has been driving, hence developing the market, but not to international standards. The most powerful partners will always have the edge since they have no fear in losing their investment. The owners of the Mobile Telcos and ISPs have a strong political influence which helps to protect their investment to an extent and helps them invest more in broadband, so they will develop the market further. Due to unrest in the region, there are military bases from several countries such as USA, UK, Japan, etc. The military bases help in developing the infrastructure in Kuwait. Due to the US armys request, two new networks were built in Kuwait. Furthermore, the demand in broadband services increased, especially in the camps. Even the Kuwaiti army and naval bases were asking for the same services, but unfortunately they did not gain the full value of this since in the end for them it was cost and benefit. Finally, it has been observed that the new Prime Minister is pushing toward liberalizing the telecommunications sector.
4.3 Economical Obstacles

Service providers face the challenge of moving from early adopters to the mass market. Encouraging uptake will depend on service providers' ability to develop original approaches for delivering appropriate pricing, affordable access, and services that address a range of subscriber requirements.
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Broadband service prices in Kuwait are relatively high. Consumers budgets may not accommodate such costs, and consequently households will not naturally feel the need to spend that extra Dinar. Broadband prices are linked to several factors: 1. International bandwidth tariffs. 2. The service provider capital and operational cost. 3. The MoC charges. Although the international tariffs are reduced every year, the service providers cost is high since every service provider builds their own core, and access network, hence the cost of operation will be high as well. As for the MoC charges, there is a chaotic state, where officials rotate, and with each rotation the new person in charge will develop new theories. Mr. Salem gave an example, in one of the meetings between Qualitynet and the MoC, there was an argument that Qualitynet service charges were too high and there must be a way to reduce it. The same person from the MoC was discussing adding an extra fee where Qualitynet was to pay the MoC 1 KD for every home customer. Naturally Mr. Salems reply was but the home user will carry the extra charges! The MoC were not convinced and they were looking into adding the 1 KD fee anyway, Mr. Menawer from MTC had a similar story. Regrettably, not all the broadband providers in Kuwait are making a healthy return on their investment according to Dr. Adel. Recently the government discussed pegging the Kuwaiti Dinar against the U.S dollar, which will in turn heat the Kuwait economy in the long run. Especially since Kuwait exports mainly to Singapore, Japan and the Far East. Mr. Salem came up with a theory suggesting that the increase in the oil prices reduced the disposable income for the home user. In his view, oil revenues go to the government and not to the people. There has been a direct impact on the disposable income of the Kuwaiti consumer, and as a consequence broadband services may be negatively affected.
4.4 Economical Drivers

In Kuwait, generally speaking, business users are more willing to pay for broadband services than residential users because of the economic benefits broadband delivers: access to a larger pool of customers and subscribers, immediate access to market information, easier communications resulting in productivity gains. Service providers must target these customers with better, more reliable services, supplemented with value added applications, and price them accordingly. Businesses are also increasingly demanding managed communications services such as mobile office, hosted PBX, conferencing and greeting services. In the past 3 years corporate users increased, especially SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) & SMBs (Small to Medium Business). On the other hand, home users became more price sensitive, looking for bargains. After Iraq war 2003, and after the fall of Saddam, Kuwait oversaw a substantial economic jump. The trust of investors in the Kuwait economy and security returned and so Kuwaitis began to invest in their country. The government permitted the operation of international banks in Kuwait in 2004, and it also passed the law of investors regulation, where foreigners can be shareholders in Kuwaiti companies. Adding to that was the rise in oil prices, and high returns from oil products. In view of the fact that the increase in oil returns goes directly to government expenditure, the access returns were used for the Kuwait infrastructure projects
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called Mega projects. One of the Mega projects was the GPON Gigabit Passive Optical Network fiber to the home project. In my opinion and based on the Kuwait GDP per capita, households can afford the broadband service. says Mr. Samah. The Kuwait market can absorb the broadband service, now that the domestic economic situation can also support broadband growth. A reference to recent across the board salary increases by the government. It also led to an increase in the buying behavior for the Kuwaiti household. Mr. Menawer had indicated that such behavior could be detected through the double SIM effect, where a person purchases more than one mobile number. The broadband demand can be created if approached correctly. Broadband services are evolving, for example as a few years ago 32KB/s service was enough to browse the Internet. Today, 512kb/s will almost meet customer requirements to surf, navigate and download from the Internet. In future, 15 Mb/s will be the minimum bandwidth required to maintain the proper quality of service while getting hold of the triple play broadband service. In my opinion broadband has and will still have a healthy turnover, if managed correctly. said Mr. Khalid. The Kuwaiti economy is stable despite the situation in Iraq. As a matter of fact the situation in Iraq created a balanced environment in Kuwait. New chances and possibilities in Iraq were opened to Kuwaiti business men knowing that Kuwait is the closest capital to Bagdad. The logistic services and telecommunications services are for the most part being acquired from Kuwait companies such as MTC, Wataniya, and PWC, who have offices in Iraq, and an increase in small to medium businesses which needs broadband to run their business in Iraq efficiently.
4.5 Social Obstacles

The percentage of foreigners in the population grew steadily after World War II, following the rise in oil revenues and the consequent government development programs with their sudden need for substantial labor. The labor market came to consist increasingly of foreigners for a number of reasons. The foreign population does not enjoy the economic and political rights of the national population. The most important factor was the small size of the original population. The Kuwait national population is characterized by a strong sense of national identity. There are no important ethnic divisions: the national population is overwhelmingly Arab. The major sectarian divisions are subsumed in the larger shared Islamic identity. Unlike many of its neighbors, Kuwait is not a twenty first century colonial fabrication. It has been a self-governing political and social unit since the eighteenth century. In the intervening years, a strong sense of local identity has arisen. This national sense has been deeply reinforced by the Iraqi occupation. Broadband is at the cutting edge of technology and consequently, it requires skilled labor to implement and operate it. Unfortunately due to the mix of nationalities which are involved in the broadband services business, the ethical standards turn out to be low. Thus selling broadband to the government sector and some large organizations doesnt depend on the quality of the service as much as it depends on how well the provider establishes his connections, if the law does not expose you then its not a crime.
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In the Kuwait University environment, and between the University students, the broadband service awareness varies. In my opinion the broadband awareness depends on the family background and origin. says Dr. Adel. He also added that in his opinion, broadband may be resisted in some households, due to certain beliefs, or a fear of the unknown. The broadband technology and service is already effecting the new generation; some of the negative effects might lead the parents to take drastic action in banning their kids from utilizing the broadband services, instead of monitoring and encouraging them. People are not buying technology, they are buying the services, thus market education and advertisement will be tough on service providers to make the consumer understand the benefits of the service. The current situation isnt that promising when it comes to events, there are minimal events in Kuwait to promote broadband. There is nominal media focus on broadband services as well. Generally speaking organizations are lacking the outsource model, they would rather do it themselves, which will increase company overheads and lower exposure to international trends. Comparing the situation to Western Europe, Far East & the U.S, where they outsource IT since it is not their core business. It is believed that such a business model will not drive the technology provider forward.
4.6 Social Drivers

The broadband awareness for home users is mixed although Kuwait has a very high Internet penetration rate; moreover the awareness is high when it comes to the business sector. There is a favorable increase in consumer buying patterns of services based on Qualitynet statistics. The life style and trend will support broadband in Kuwait. The Internet is being used to chase worldwide trends; worldwide broadband is becoming way of life. Kuwait is the highest satellite penetration rate, thus is exposed to worlds trends, and so the life style effects and trends are strong. Generally speaking, Kuwaitis are receptive to new trends, enjoy fashion and luxury. For example, the approximate life of a mobile handset is 3 months. People buy them as a type of retail therapy. Families are socially bonded hence broadband will complement the family bond and increase the need for better communications methods. The rapid deployment of broadband will help in over coming the remaining issues in addition to the fact that access to the service is reasonable. There are several distribution channels you can subscribe to by phone, fax, Internet and walk in stores. You can also pay by either credit card or cash. There is extremely weak piracy legislation in Kuwait, and so many youngsters are exploiting peer-to-peer applications, for high bandwidth content such as pirated movies, shows, songs etc. On another note, international calls are extremely expensive, and the MoC is the only body to standardize the tariffs. That is why there is a lack of competition when it comes to international calls. As a result, people move to voice over the Internet having in mind that more than 49% of Kuwaits population is expatriate. Broadband potential is high; says Mr. Khalid. The prices of PCs and laptops are getting cheaper, which results in high PC penetration in homes, schools, and businesses.
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Kuwaitis are merchants and businessmen by tradition. This is a result of the strategic geographic location of Kuwait, as even Alexander the Great utilized Kuwait as a logistical hub. Consequently, Kuwaiti SMEs and home users enclose strong broadband demand to interact with international bodies such as brokers or other business partners; hence a fast and reliable broadband connection is required. Broadband is being promoted by all six companies each from their own prospective targeted and desired segment. For example, Wataniya were the only company who targeted the SMEs and SMBs in their public advertisements, all the other providers exercise direct marketing methods for business sectors.
4.7 Technological Obstacles

Presently, Kuwait contains land line providers (MoC), Mobile operators (MTC, and Wataniya), and Internet service providers (KEMS, Qualitynet, FastTelco, and United networks). There are several types of network in Kuwait and a number of technologies are used in the network core layer, the network access layer and at the customer premises. For instance, each provider utilizes their own backbone. MTC and MoC are still using SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) for their core network, meanwhile FastTelco is a hybrid of SDH, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), & IP (Internet protocol). Whereas United Network is pure IP backbone. As for access, there is a mix between several technologies in order to accommodate broadband services access of networks such as GPON, ADSL, HDSL, WiFi, and 3G. Within the coming seven years, broadband technologies will be overlapping, and they will all be merged. Thus only service providers will exist since the network will be unified, one infrastructure to deliver all services. Mr. Khalid. Although there are several service providers in this field, there is a lack of application providers. People in Kuwait are service driven rather than technology driven, they dont buy broadband, people buy the services on top of broadband, and they dont understand ADSL to fiber to the home, people understand the fast connection and high quality of service. Generally speaking the MoC are lacking the expertise to run new technologies such as GPOV which is because the MoC has been depending on old technologies for the past decade. On the other hand, the private sector can handle such advances to certain limits since they have been investing in cutting edge technologies since 2000. Dr. Adel has added that in his view and according to his research, broadband is still not mature enough whereas on the other hand most of the other interviewees disagree with this statement. Although GPON technology is only deployed in test labs, and according to Alcatel staff in Kuwait the telecommunications world is paying special attention to the Kuwait GPON project to measure how successful it will turn out to be. Kuwait is therefore becoming a yardstick in this field.
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4.8 Technological Drivers

Technology trends are moving in the broadband direction since networks are heading to a convergence network. A convergence network is the integration of all traffic types - voice, data and video solutions - onto a single IP network. All are moving to broadband. For example, when the GPON project started only the Alcatel network would support the concept, whereas nowadays the technology is available, and can be accessed. Moreover, most of the vendors are using open source, and matching standards thus the customer/service provider can mix and match between different brands. At present the MoC has offers from both Siemens, and Ericsson who have joined the technology leaders in promoting the network for Kuwait for GPON provision. As a matter of fact, the MoC has already signed with Siemens for phase two of the project. Consequently, Kuwait has one of the first life labs for fiber to the home broadband access technology. The MoC have launched a RFP to provide WLL (wireless local loop) on a WIMAX tender. Forty six national companies have applied to the RFP, and they have all submitted a proposal. The technology is mature, and companies are willing to participate in broadband bids since broadband technologies such as WIMAX, WiFi, IP, ADSL, and 3G etc are deployed worldwide and well proven. There are available resources and expertise in the market to excel with the new broadband technology, also such resources can be obtained from outside of Kuwait. There are minimal competing technologies; most of the new technologies are complementing technologies. There is a worldwide demand for broadband technology, due to the rich services and applications that it carries. Almost any content, be it movies, pictures, streaming, live feeds, voice can be carried with excellent quality of service. Thus broadband technology is getting cheaper, and no matching substitutes are on the horizon. Another superior feature of broadband is that, it being a customized technology, it can be tailored to everyones tastes. Finally newer technologies are cheaper to implement, since they integrate easily, especially since broadband is stable and time proven.
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5.Chapter 5: Conclusion, recommendations, and further research.
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5.0 Conclusion
Broadband is where the future of communications is heading since almost all of the communications services will demand higher bandwidth (throughput), services such a TV, Video, Telephony, Internet, triple play services. In addition generally speaking all of the communications services are merging and they are complementing each other in a bandwidth hungry environment Problems will in all probability arise because broadband technologies are operating in a regulation vacuum. Today, there are no plans to ensure that broadband will be affordable; there are no enforcement measures to ensure that broadband networks are open and transparent; there is no plan to maximize the provision of unlicensed wireless broadband services and there is no guarantee that ISPs have the right to deploy broadband services for their consumers. This policy vacuum creates uncertainty, hampers innovation, and depresses both the demand and supply of broadband services. The overall objective of the thesis is to identify the main drivers and obstacles impacting the development of broadband, in the knowledge based, service driven economy of Kuwait. This research was focused towards the broadband drivers and obstacles in Kuwait; focusing on four major issues: Broadband Technical drivers and obstacles, broadband Political drivers and obstacles, broadband Economical drivers and obstacles, and finally broadband Social drivers and obstacles. The research was based on a qualitative method; therefore it was based on face to face semi-structured interviews with the people who are dealing with the dilemma. The interviews were carried out with upper management individuals from the private sector, government sector (Ministry of Communications), and the academic sector. The size of the segment was approximately seven senior post managers.
Table 5-1 : Kuwait broadband PEST analysis; a summary of the interviews findings
Kuwait Broadband PEST analysis Political Delaying WTO (World trade organization) execution, since the government is not ready. The private owners of the ISP are influencing the political decisions through their presents in the parliament, the chamber of commerce, or economical pressure. No independent regulatory body. There is no direct authority of Kuwait University, and the academic faculty on the development of Economic Expensive broadband services. The telecommunications market and prices are in a ciaos state. Not all the broadband providers are making healthy turnover Although broadband services are expensive. Based on the Kuwait GDP per capita household can afford it. The Kuwait market can absorb the broadband service. The broadband services demand can be created if done right. The broadband has and will still have healthy turnover, if managed
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Broadband. There is no political instability at the MOC level; the minister of communications was changed 3 times in the past 2 years. There is no government clear vision on were they want to drive the broadband services. Signing the WTO agreement in 1995 by itself is a major driver. Sine the owners of the ISPs have strong political influence which interims protect their investment and help them invest more in broadband, and develop the market further. The government is stable, there is no political instability. No Experienced Communications Minister. Existing external (International) pressure groups. Looking at Kuwait market, pushing for liberalization. Such as STC. No environment body to regulate & monitor the environment of the communications, specially the wireless part. Because of the unrest in the region, there are several international military bases, which in term helping the infrastructure in Kuwait, and broadband. The absence of regulators removed the cover of the small ISPs and they were vulnerable to the mobile carriers attacks. Social Due to the mix of nationalities which are involved in the broadband business, the ethics standards are low in the business. Minimal media focus on the broadband service. Broadband may be resisted in some household, due to certain beliefs, or fear of the unknown.
correctly. After Iraq war 2003, big boom happened in the Kuwaiti economy. Investors regulation, were foreigners can own in Kuwaiti companies. The opening of international banks in Kuwait since 2004 Stable economy despite the in situation in Iraq. Rise on oil Prices Increase Government expenditure in Mega projects The Kuwaiti Dinar was pegged against the U.S dollar. Which will in turn heart the Kuwait economy n the long run, specially since Kuwait exports most to Singapore, Japan (Far east) Increase in the buying behavior for the household. New chances & possibilities in Iraq, plus supported services in Iraq. MTC, Wataniya, PWC, contraction, increase in small to medium businesses. The raise in oil prices reduced the disposable income, oil goes to the government, international prices raised, prices raised, thus disposable income lowered. Corporate users increased, especially SMEs & SMBs, thus more bandwidth needed.
Technological The technology trends are going to the broadband direction. Kuwait has one of the 1st life labs for Fiber to the home broadband technology. There are available resources in the market to excel with the new broadband technology. There are minimal competing
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Broadband technology may effect the new generation. Broadband awareness for home users is mixed although Kuwait has a very high Internet penetration rate. However, awareness is high when it comes to the business sector. There is an increasing trend in consumer purchasing of services overall. The rapid deployment of broadband will help in over coming resistance. The social issue is driven by fashion. Consumers favor luxury. Life cycle of a handset is 3 months, as consumers make purchases based on a desire to improve their mood. Social bonding of families. Thus more communication will be required. People are not buying technology, they are buying the service, therefore market education and advertisement will be tough on service providers. Generally speaking organizations are lacking the outsource model. Do it yourself increases overheads. Compared to Western Europe & the U.S this will not drive the technology provider further. The current situation is not promising when it comes to events. Highest saturated country on the planet, thus exposure to world trends. No legislation, therefore many will look to use peer-to-peer applications, for high bandwidth content exposing a greater chance of piracy. Low ethics in terms of if the law does not catch you then its not a crime. Internet is being used to follow
technologies; most of the new technologies are complementing technologies. Worldwide demand on the broadband technology, thus its getting cheaper, & substitutes are arising. Lack of application provider. People are service driven rather than technology driven The technology is pretty mature in some cases, & at the edge of technology on others. However the GPON Technology isnt mature enough, it needs more time. No restrictions, the technology is available, can be accessed, most of them using open source, and same standards thus can mix and match. MoC are lacking the expertise to run such technology, since MoC had been depending on old technologies for awhile. The private sector can handle such advancement to certain limit. Stable technology and time proven. Outsourcing of company functions over broadband connections is feeding into.
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worldwide trends. Worldwide broadband is becoming way of life. Fast connection for brokers to link to as far as the states. Lack of competition when it comes to international calls, encourages people move to voice over the Internet. Most of the Kuwaiti community is foreign labor. In my opinion the above PEST analysis was an attempt to summarize the answers to the major research question. The area under discussion still needs further research, as shown throughout the interviews, all parties are looking forward to solving the mentioned obstacles and driving broadband forward for the benefit of the economy, and the countrys development.
5.1 Recommendations
Based on the findings from the researched data, an attempt will be made in this section to come up with relevant recommendations. Well also endeavor to segment the recommendation with accordance to the classified meaning four categories which were presented in Chapter 4; the four categories are the political, economical, sociological, and finally technological category for the broadband in Kuwait.
5.1.1 Political category Recommendations

Starting with the Political recommendations; after analyzing the data collected from the sources in Chapter 2 in addition to the findings that were based on one-to-one interviews in Chapter 4, I would point out throughout the report that there is an argument for creating an independent regulatory body. However, this will be a significant challenge since in Bahrain, Saudi, Iran and the Emirates, the regulatory bodies were established when the market was a monopoly and the government completely owned the telecommunications sector. On the other hand, with reference to table 5.1 the situation in Kuwait is different.
Table 5-2 : The current communications model in Kuwait
PSTN-fixed network Monopoly
Mobile Duopoly
Internet Competitive
Hence it will be an exceptional environment to regulate or deregulate. Based on the above findings, my recommendations would be to create a consortium. The consortiums objective should be to establish a regulatory body in Kuwait with the following goals, derived from the evidence of Chapter 2:
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Encourage, regulate and facilitate adequate access, interconnection and interoperability. Monitor and, where required, set tariffs. Propose and effect modifications to licenses where appropriate. Monitor and enforce compliance with license terms by licensees. Monitor and investigate compliance with telecommunications law. Grant licenses and give final decisions as to applications for licenses. Set and collect license fees, fines and payment for services provided by the Authority. Administer radio frequencies used in telecommunications. Prepare the national numbering plan and assign numbers to licensed operators. Approve equipment for connection. Institute technical rules, regulations and standards for interconnection. Assurance of high quality services to users at just, sensible and affordable prices. Look after consumer interests. Generate a climate of buoyancy for investment in the ICT sector. Motivate competition in the sectors. Intervene in disputes.
The recommendations are in two stages; Stage one is forming the consortium which will establish the bases neutral regulatory body. Stage two would be the commencing of the regulatory body. In order to customize the neutral regulatory body toward cooperating with the current condition of Kuwait communications environment, I would recommend forming the consortium from the following sectors: 1. Academic sector representatives, ex. Kuwait University or other private universities communications faculty numbers. 2. Private sector representatives, ex. MTC, Wataniya, KEMS, Qualitynet, FastTelco, United Networks. 3. International, experienced consultants from the field of communications regulations. 4. Governmental sector representatives, ex. the MoC, and the Ministry of Planning. In my view the method of tackling the current problems and incorporating the solutions into a new regulatory body is critical. A realistic plan for accomplishment, of the above mix would be necessary in order to form the consortium that can lead the initiative.
5.1.2 Economic recommendations

The economic recommendations will be presented in the form of a Force field analysis based on the interviews findings discussed in Chapter 4.
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Kuwait Economical broadband Forcefield Analysis

The home economy situation will support the broadband Broadband services are expensive.
Some broadband providers arent making healthy turnover
Oil prices have increased and the Iraq apporuinity have opened for Kuwait service providers.
Increase Government expenditure in Mega projects
The raise in oil prices reduced the disposable income
Services are evolving, few years back 32KB/s were enough to browse, today 512kb/s is the norm.
Slow growth; broadband market instability
Service providers are realizing that prices war will damage the market.
The telecommunication market and prices are in a ciaos state.
5.1.3 Social category recommendations

Mr. Menawer and Mr. Salem have both pointed out that if we start changing the business customers mindset from planning, developing, implementing, and maintaining IT infrastructure, into outsourcing. This will give a great boost for broadband. This can be achieved with extensive marketing and demos for customers. Wataniya tried such a service, however, it didnt pick up due to poor customer awareness. Kuwaits society is a blend of different cultures, varying even in levels of education. To increase peoples awareness of broadband; media campaigns as were once carried out in South Korea, China, Singapore, and Europe highlighting benefits rather than features will help to smooth the uptake of broadband.
5.1.4 Technological category recommendation

Technologies are merging into convergence networks, deploying several networks in a small country such as Kuwait will have several drawbacks such as, increase in operation cost, increase in capital cost, investment in training, mostly for non Kuwaitis. Mr. Nabeel had a vision, if we could minimize the number of core networks to be outsourced, the service
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provider can build their own access networks. This way, direct and indirect costs would be reduced. Mr. Menawer had mentioned that even though the MoC agreed with MTC, and Wataniya to share the same towers for wireless coverage. All parties approved the agreement, still none of the parties is fulfilling this, and so the cost of deployment is remains high. Based on the interviews with the MoC officials, it was apparent that they knew the GPON project was larger than the MoC could handle, mainly due to the difficulties in technical expertise, supplier management, and experience in the field. The private sector should be allowed to join in the risk and benefits of the project. Almost all of the providers have dealt with cutting edge networks in different layers; hence their added expertise would be well received. They could also help the MoC promote their services, since the private sector tends to have better marketing campaigns than the public sector.
5.2 Further research

In my research, I have attempted to begin to investigate an existing predicament which is hindering a countrys development. If this is not dealt with soon, it may begin to cause a huge conflict between the main communications players. Several areas are still left to be researched especially since the area under discussion is neglected. Despite the fact that it was discussed in the newspapers and in parliament on several occasions, no serious steps have been taken to remedy the issues related to the development of the communications sector which will in the end be merged into broadband services. In my opinion, it would be of great benefit if further research could be conducted on the proposed consortium which is geared towards forming, and establishing the neutral regulatory body. Secondly, the potential of broadband in Kuwait after the market becomes regulated / deregulated also needs to be studied closely.
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References:
Arab Advisors Group Strategic Research Service (www.arabadvisors.com). Saudi Arabias broadband market grows by 174% in 2005. May 28, 2006. Arab Advisors Group Strategic Research Service (www.arabadvisors.com). Kuwaits saturated duopoly market: an analysis of market share dynamics. September 17, 2006. Arab Advisors Group Strategic Research Service (www.arabadvisors.com). Strategic Research Service. June 18, 2006. Arab Planning Institute. Telecommunications Privatization in Arab Countries. October 2001. Al-Azmi, K. (2006) Interview, no.01a00, 13 November, 2006. Al-Ibrahim, A. (2006) Interview, no.01a00 18 September, 2006. Al-Kahtrash, M. (2006) Interview, no.01a00, 9 November, 2006. Al-Mulaifi, S. (2006) Interview, no.01a00 24 November, 2006. Al-Salama, N (2006) Interview, no. 01a00 11 September,2006. CIA, (2006) The World Fact Book, Available: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html. (Accessed 2006, Sep. 17) Corrocher, N. & Fontana, R. (2006). Objectives, obstacles and drivers of ICT adoption. 4th Telecommunications Policy Research Conference 2006, Davis, F.D. (1989) Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3): 319-340. Denscombe, M. (1998) The Good Research Guide, Buckingham, Open University Press. Dey, I. (1993) Qualitative data Analysis, London, Routledge. Graham, D. (1995) Presentation, Alcatel broadband fast forward program, November 2005. ITU (http://www.itu.int). Middle East ICT initiatives. 19 November, 2004 Juma, A. (2006) Interview, no.01a00 8 November, 2006. Kahan, R. and Cannel, C. (1957) The Dynamics of Interviewing, New York and Chechester, Wiley. Little, A. (2005) Presentation, (Mobile) Broadband Wireless Access Developments and Issues, August 2005. Madar Research Group. Madar ICT index. May 2006.
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Kuwait Maastricht Business School (KMBS)

Master of Business Administration (Intake 2)

Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________

Broadband; Drivers and Obstecals in the state of Kuwait ____________________________________________________________________________

iii Table of Contents

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1.1 Background and Overview

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of Frequency Band WIFI 2.4/GHz Not Assigned Not Assigned

50/BD Annually Under Study Under Study

2.4 GHz 5.4GHz

Light License License Mandatory License Mandatory

License Mandatory License Mandatory License Mandatory

Under Study Under Study Under Study

Light Lice. Admin fee

Source (Batelco 2005). *

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1.4 Research Question

1.6 Thesis Structure

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2. Chapter 2: Literature review.

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Source: Madar research journal, May 2003.

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Primary Activity . Regulator . Regulator .

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Source: Arthur D. Little

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2.1 The Islamic Republic of Iran 2.1.1 KEY STATISTICS

2.1.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

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2.1.3 Regulatory authority

2.1.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET

Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.4% 1% 1.5% 5% 7% 8% 9%

2.1.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

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2.2 The Kingdom of Jordan 2.2.1 SUMMARY STATISTICS.

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National telecommunications authorities Regulatory authority Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC)

2.2.2 The telecommunications market in Jordan

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2.2.3 The regulatory environment- Background

2.2.4 Broadband and Internet in the Kingdom of Jordan

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Penetration N/A N/A N/A N/A 2% 2.5% 4.5% 6% 8% 11% 15%

Note: estimates 1995-2004 by ITU.

2.3 The Kingdom of Bahrain 2.3.1 KEY STATISTICS

(Source: ITU and TRA data)

Major public telecom operator Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco)

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2.3.2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

2.3.3 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT- Background

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2.3.4 BROADBAND AND INTERNET MARKET- Overview

2.3.5 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

Source: (ITU and Global Mobile data)