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UAE ranks first in Mideast in utilised bandwidth index

ABU DHABI The UAE ranks first in the utilised bandwidth index while Qatar ranks first on the bandwidth capacity index, says a report released by the Arab Advisors Group.

The report calculates the regional internet bandwidth indices for the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

"Our research shows that the nine countries in the index had more than 1.5 million Internet accounts by 2002-end. These used a combined bandwidth capacity of more than 3.4 Gbps, " said Shahin Shahin, Arab Advisors analyst and the author of the report.

"Naturally, the aggregate figure disguises substantial intra-regional disparities in bandwidth. The RIBCI results reveal these disparities as the index figures ranged from a very low 0.10 score for Syria and a high 3.53 for Qatar," Shahin added.

Qatar led the Regional Internet Bandwidth Capacity Index with a score of 3.53, followed by Morocco (2.35), UAE (1.59), Jordan (1.44), Oman (1.36), Egypt (1.33), Saudi Arabia (0.51), Lebanon (0.41) and Syria (0.10).

With regards to the Regional Utilised Internet Bandwidth Index, the UAE was the leading country with an index score of 2.52, followed by Egypt (1.47), Qatar (1.37), Jordan (0.91), Oman (0.41), Saudi Arabia (0.37), Lebanon (0.29) and Syria (0.15), said the report.

Media service

The Arab Advisors Group has launched a Media Strategic Research Service (MSRS), which provides the first primary research based methodical approach to analysing the Arab world's media industry. "Arab Advisors Group has decided to leverage its extensive research experience, knowledge base, and media industry experience and know-how to provide a service that will provide reliable, accurate, and trusted coverage of the Arab media industry, " said Khaldoon Tabaza, Director & co-founder of Arab Advisors Group.

Tabaza said the media industry in the region is undergoing rapid changes that include entrance of new players, expansion of existing ones, consolidation amongst the various others, and competition between vendors, and service providers. Also countries are attracting investors and media companies to establish base such as the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

"Furthermore, the recent global tension and conflicts have once again focused attention on the Arab word, " he pointed out, adding that the MSRS will cover television, radio, print, music, film, and online sectors.

The Arab world boasted of a vibrant and growing media industry. The Dubai Media City tenant list swelled to 560 at the end of 2002 from 190 a year before. Also recently, more satellite TV channels have been launched including the music channel Melody TV and the brand new MBC2. "The rise of pay-TV, the shake-up in programming and alliances that shifted programming power back and forth between Orbit, Showtime and ART have created a mature and highly competitive pay-TV sector," Zeid Nasser, industry expert said.