LIRNEasia » Palestine http://lirneasia.net a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:38:15 +0000 en hourly 1 Over 200,000 in Jaffna deprived of phone service now for two months http://lirneasia.net/2006/10/over-200000-in-jaffna-deprived-of-phone-service-now-for-two-months/ http://lirneasia.net/2006/10/over-200000-in-jaffna-deprived-of-phone-service-now-for-two-months/#comments Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:37:34 +0000 Rohan Samarajiva http://www.lirneasia.net/2006/10/over-200000-in-jaffna-deprived-of-phone-service-now-for-two-months/ Dialog Telekom took a courageous step in 2002, deciding within weeks of the Cease Fire Agreement being signed that it would supply telecom services to the people of the North and East who had been excluded from the country’s telecom revolution for so long, because of the conflict and the military’s prohibition of service in conflict areas.  The services thus provided were, without question, the most important dividend that the people of Jaffna saw from the path of peace, followed by the mobility allowed by the opening and restoring of the A9 highway.

 

Now, Dialog and the people of the North are paying the price of the path of war.  For two months, the mobile networks have been shut down in the North, with service being allowed intermittently in the East.  This means that approximately 220,000 families are unable to communicate with their loved ones in the North and that another 200,000 or so families are not sure their phone will work when they most need it.  

 

Dialog, a company that has been the darling of the stock market since its successful IPO is looking at the loss not only of a significant number of subscribers, but also of a higher proportion of revenues because these are high-spending customers, as documented in the sample survey LIRNEasia conducted in the Jaffna district before the window of opportunity closed in 2005.  It is noteworthy that they are continuing to maintain their commercial relationship in the region, optimistic that they will be allowed to restore service soon.    

 

LIRNEasia believes that communication is a basic right.  We have shown that in many conflict areas the phones continue to work, Israel and Palestine being the classic examples.  We hope that the leaders of the government of consensus will do the right thing by the people of Jaffna and the East, who are today unable to communicate with their loved ones.    

]]> http://lirneasia.net/2006/10/over-200000-in-jaffna-deprived-of-phone-service-now-for-two-months/feed/ 9 The bounty of sensible regulation in Africa and Middle East http://lirneasia.net/2006/08/the-bounty-of-sensible-regulation-in-africa/ http://lirneasia.net/2006/08/the-bounty-of-sensible-regulation-in-africa/#comments Tue, 01 Aug 2006 08:56:16 +0000 Abu Saeed Khan http://www.lirneasia.net/2006/08/the-bounty-of-sensible-regulation-in-africa/ Arab Mobile Phone Subscriptions Jump 70% in 2005
Source: www.cellular-news.com/story/18589.php
The number of mobile phone subscriptions in the Arab world has grown by a whopping 70 percent in 2005, underlining a strong consumer demand coupled by increased liberalization and competition in Arab telecom markets, according to a recently published Madar Research study. The study also reveals that Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have achieved mobile phone penetration levels among their population that are comparable with those prevalent in Europe and Pacific Rim countries.
Mobile subscription in the Arab world – total of 18 countries covered by Madar Research excluding Somalia, Mauritania, Djibouti and Comoros – grew from 51.19 million by end 2004 to 87.06 million by end 2005, exceeding all expectation and forecasts.
This resulted in an average pan-Arab penetration rate equivalent to 28 subscriptions per 100 of population, ranging in individual countries from a low of just over five percent penetration to a high that exceeds 100 percent.
“Thanks to a telecom liberalization drive which gained momentum in many Arab countries over the past couple of years and the resulting competitive environment and dropping prices, mobile telephony has become accessible to a wider base of Arab consumers,” said Abdul Kader Kamli, president and research director of the Dubai Media City-based Madar Research. “Due to falling fees and rates – not to mention the mobility advantage – mobile phones have interestingly become a more viable alternative in many Arab countries where fixed telephone service is either unreliable or unable to meet demand. In such countries the subscription ratio of mobile lines to fixed lines can now reach a high of 10 to one as is the case in Morocco, which is by far higher than the ratio in the industrialized world,” Kamli added.
Madar Research expects mobile growth to sustain strong levels, especially in countries where penetration rates are still low.
Classification of Arab countries by regions shows that the highest growth rate in mobile subscription was recorded in the least information and communication technology-savvy countries of Yemen and Sudan, while the lowest growth was seen in the more mature markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The GCC witnessed growth of around 38 percent, while North Africa (excluding Egypt) made almost 86 percent, followed by nearly 83 percent in the Levant, which groups Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. In terms of penetration rates the GCC leads by far the Arab world, followed by North Africa and the Levant, respectively.
Among other findings of the study are Libya’s remarkable three-digit growth in mobile subscription – the highest in the Arab world in 2005, Jordan’s rise to become the most competitive mobile telecom market among the countries covered by the study, and Bahrain’s ascendance to the list of world’s top countries in mobile penetration.

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