The document discusses broadband access in Jordan. It provides background on Jordan's geography, history, politics, and telecommunications sector. Jordan has made significant investments in telecom infrastructure over the past few decades. Major players now include Orange, Batelco, Zain, and others offering ADSL, wireless and 3G services. While broadband access has expanded, affordability remains an issue for many Jordanians compared to higher GDP countries like Australia. The telecom regulator aims to promote competition and accessible services.

1. Broadbanding the Nation
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Michael de PercyMichael de Percy
www.politicalscience.com.auwww.politicalscience.com.au

2. Overview
• Visited Jordan, Bahrain and Jerusalem
• Hosted by Princess Sumaya University for
Technology
• Built an open-source, bilingual eresearch portal
• Worked from Amman, Jerash, and Aqaba
• Taught a group of Bedouin divers how to market
their diving business using Facebook
• Method: Comparative, elite interviews, historical
institutionalism

3. About: Host University
Princess Sumaya University for Technology
• Non-profit private Jordanian university, owned by the
Royal Scientific Society
• Professor Abdullah Al-Zoubi, Dean
• King Abdullah I School for Graduate Studies and
Scientific Research

4. Model for teaching ESL@UCC

5. Jordan: Brief Overview
• Jordan borders Syria in the north, Israel in the
west, Iraq in the east, and Saudi Arabia in the
south east
• The capital, Amman, is the historical city of
Philadelphia, one of the oldest, continuously
inhabited cities in the world
• Home of Petra, the rose-red city of the
Nabateans and the site of Christ’s baptism
• Seaport: Aqaba on the Red Sea, adjacent to the
Sinai (Egypt) and the south of Israel

6. Jordan: Brief History (cont)
• Biblical land: kingdoms of Edom, Moab, and Jerusalem
form part of its early beginnings
• Occupied by Romans, Umayyads, Crusaders, Ottomans,
& in 20th
century, the British
• British influence brought about by Great War & the
Lawrence of Arabia in Wad-rum, Jordan
• British established Transjordan in 1920 with a population
of about 350,000
• In 1946, Transjordan became independent of Britain and
Abdullah was declared King of Transjordan
• Jordan involved in conflict with Israel and PLO until 1994
treaty

7. Jordan: Statistics

8. Jordan: Politics
Freedom House score:
• Political rights rating declined from 5 to 6
• Status from Partly Free to Not Free
• King Abdullah II dismissed parliament and announced
elections would not be held until end of 2010
• Also, security forces’ influence over political life
• Reasons for dismissal:
• “The delay would allow the government to rule by decree
for at least a year, and it was expected to enact a series
of unpopular market liberalization measures as well as a
new election law in the parliament’s absence” (Freedom
House 2010)

9. Jordan: Telecoms History
• Warring British & Ottoman empires brought first
electronic communications technologies to the region
• National infrastructure first appeared during early 1930
under supervision of the Post & Telegraph Department
• Cable & Wireless assisted in development of telecoms
services via international connections
• Under Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ministry of Posts,
Telegraph & Telephone was established
• 1961: First automatic telephone services – 5,000 lines
• 1971: Formalisation of Telecommunications Corporation
(TCC) as Government-controlled entity

10. Jordan: Telecoms History (cont)
• 1973-85: System expanded under three successive government
investment plans in response to demand
• 1987-92: Recession affected Government funding to meet demand,
demand increased with Jordanian expatriates returning during 1991
Gulf War
• 1993: Government initiated National Telecoms Program to increase
penetration from 7.8 to 12 lines per 100, private sector allowed to
invest in telecommunications projects
• 1994: Fastlink granted first mobile cellular license in Jordan
• 1995: Telecoms Law No. 13 provided legal basis for reform and the
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) established
• 1997: Telecoms Corporation (TCC) corporatised as 1st
step towards
privatisation, renamed Jordan Telecommunications Company (JTC)

11. Jordan: Telecoms History (cont)
• 1999: Duopoly: MobileCom provides mobile cellular services
• 2000: Jordan joins WTO – obliged to liberalise industry by 2004
• 2000: 40% of JTC shares sold to consortium led by France Telecom and
Arab Bank, 8% to Social Security Corporation, 1% to Jordan Telecom
Company employees
• 2002: Ministry of Post and Communications renamed "Ministry of
Information and Communications Technology (MoICT)“
• 2002: Independence of TRC to regulate telecoms & ICT services
• 2002: 10.49% of Jordan Telecom shares sold in a public offering
• 2003: Government policy to end duopoly of mobile phone providers
• 2004: Public consultations on telecoms liberalisation
• 2005: Fixed market open to competition
• 2008: Government shares in JTC sold & TRC announces 3G plans
• 2009: JTG granted 3G licence and service launched in March 2010

12. Jordan: Telecoms History (cont)
Jordan: Telecoms Today

13. Jordan: Telecoms Today
• Major players include: Orange (France
Telecom), Batelco, Zain, Fastlink, Umniah, &
Xpress
• Combination of ADSL and wireless (Wimax)
• Personal experience of broadband via ADSL
and wireless was excellent
• Additional 1GB download in Aqaba = $2
• Additional 1GB download in Palmerston = N/A

14. Jordan: Telecoms Today
• Major Institutions:
• MoICT: Competitive ICT & postal sectors that
enhance quality of life & accelerate socio-
economic development throughout the Kingdom
• TRC: Efficient, effectively competitive,
accessible & affordable ICT & postal services
• NITC: To utilise national IT resources of the
public sector and maximise its contribution to
economic growth and welfare of Jordan

15. Jordan: Telecoms Today

16. Jordan: Telecoms Today

17. Jordan: Telecoms Today

18. Jordan: Telecoms Today

19. Jordan: Statistics
• Wimax providers 17% of market share
• 4 major competitors in mobile market
• ADSL = 11.7% of total households
• Of ADSL subscribers, 13.3% share it with
neighbours
• 28% of those sharing share the ADSL
connection with two more households
• 22.7% with three additional households and
29.3% with one additional household

20. Jordan: Early Findings
• Considering GDP per capita approx 13 times less than
Australia, Jordanian broadband services are very good
• Consumer affordability is the biggest issue, not lack of
infrastructure
• Interesting feature: regulators have been “captured” by
consumers – more like the ACCC than the ACMA
• Industry finds it difficult to secure inter-connection
agreements via TRC (although 17 signed in 2009)
• Interesting to overcome the ethnocentric view of
institutions and how these function in a developing
market economy
• Interesting to see how the regulator “fills consumer gap”
• Various industry “taxes” add up substantially