Region increases number of broadband subscribers by 38% in 2006
Arabcom, Dubai - during the DSL Forum's first visit to the Middle East, Robin Mersh, the DSL Forum Chief Operating Officer, applauded the strong growth of broadband in the region during his keynote address at Arabcom. Mersh cited analyst Point Topic's published figures that confirm that the number of broadband subscribers in Middle East and Africa grew by 38% in 2006, while the number of those subscribers using DSL access technology grew by 81.9% to 4.3million.
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon have the highest broadband penetration, with almost half the households in Qatar having broadband access, 28.87% in the United Arab Emirates and 22.5% in Lebanon. Turkey has the most DSL subscribers in the region and almost doubled the number in 2006 to 2.9million. Tunisia, Egypt and Qatar all increased the number of subscribers in their respective countries by over 100%, while in the United Arab Emirates, the number of DSL subscribers grew by 63.45% to 207,080.
"The rapidly emerging markets in the Middle East are a testimony to how global standards are improving speed to market," said Mersh. "DSL access technology is by far the most popular access technology, accounting for almost 88% of broadband subscribers in the Middle East. New applications, such as supporting IPTV offerings to customers and DSL used for mobile backhaul for cellular providers, are only going to fuel this growth further.
"We are pleased to be here at Arabcom to continue educating the market about the latest in DSL Forum architecture and management specifications, to ensure that service providers here have the tools they need to build out superior networks, well capable of delivering all the multimedia applications they envision."
Visitors to the DSL Forum booth (A1) will be able to meet with Forum representatives and learn more about their work.
- Ends -
DSL subscriber growth in the Middle East and AfricaQ4 2005 to Q4 2006
Total DSL subscribers, Q4 2005 | Total DSL subscribers, Q4 2006 | % growth in 2006 |
2,367,882 | 4,308,527 | 81.9% |
Source: Data prepared for the DSL Forum by Point Topic
Individual country DSL subscriber growth in the Middle East and AfricaQ4 2005 to Q4 2006
Country | Total DSL subscribers, Q4 2005 | Total DSL subscribers, Q4 2006 | % DSL subscriber growth in 2006 |
Turkey | 1,541,977 | 2,935,900 | 90.40% |
Morocco | 242,000 | 393,300 | 62.52% |
United Arab Emirates | 126,693 | 207,080 | 63.45% |
Egypt | 91,000 | 205,182 | 125.47% |
South Africa | 116,000 | 203,700 | 75.60% |
Saudi Arabia | 55,000 | 74,000 | 34.55% |
Tunisia | 29,000 | 71,000 | 144.83% |
Qatar | 24,647 | 50,000 | 102.86% |
Jordan | 27,600 | 38,600 | 39.86% |
Kuwait | 30,600 | 30,600 | 0.00% |
| Algeria | 25,400 | 25,400 | 0.00% |
Senegal | 18,000 | 18,000 | 0.00% |
Bahrain | 15,600 | 16,500 | 5.77% |
Mauritius | 8,300 | 16,200 | 95.18% |
Syria | 7,000 | 11,000 | 57.14% |
Palestine | 7,665 | 7,665 | 0.00% |
Sudan | - | 3,000 | - |
Yemen | 1,400 | 1,400 | 0.00% |
Source: Data prepared for the DSL Forum by Point Topic
About the DSL Forum
The DSL Forum tailors broadband to meet the needs of the next generation of multi-media services and the online community. By forging agreements on common technical requirements and embracing new applications, the Forum works to streamline processes, define specifications, and share best practices that set the stage for effective deployments and explosive global DSL growth. Established in 1994, the DSL Forum is an international industry consortium of over 200 leading service providers, equipment manufacturers and other interested parties. Please visit www.dslforum.org for more information.
For more information, please contact:
Louise Hatton
Tel: +44 (0)115 948 6901
E-mail: louise@bcspr.co.uk.
Helen Lyman Smith
Tel: +44 (0)115 948 6901
Natalie Saville
Tel: +44 (0)115 948 6901
© Press Release 2007
