Page 65 - SAMENA Trends - July-September 2024

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Jordan Sees Robust Expansion in Broadband and Mobile Connectivity

Jordan's telecommunications sector is subscription jumped to 521 gigabytes, up The volume of mobile voice traffic reached
booming, with fixed broadband subscrip- from 389 gigabytes last year, marking a re- 7.3 billion minutes, with 97% of calls being
tions soaring to nearly 798,800, and fiber markable 34% growth. Mobile broadband local and 3% international. Text messag-
internet dominating the market with a subscriptions now total 7.788 million, split ing activity totaled 233 million messages
69% share, Petra reports. The latest report between 62% prepaid and 38% postpaid during the quarter. Fixed voice services
from the Telecommunications Regulatory plans. The market is predominantly driven reported 493,700 subscribers, with the
Commission highlights a robust demand by voice and data packages, which consti- residential sector accounting for 67% and
for high-speed internet, underscoring the tute 84% of subscriptions, while data-only the commercial sector 33%. Fixed line call
nation’s rapid digital transformation. Fixed lines account for 16%. Mobile phone pen- traffic amounted to 9.7 million minutes,
broadband services have achieved a 33.3% etration stands at 67.3% of the total pop- with local calls representing 87% and inter-
household penetration rate, driven largely ulation, climbing to an impressive 103.6% national calls 13%. Leased line subscrip-
by Fiber-to-the-Building (FTTB) technolo- among those over 15. The adoption of 5G tions increased to 20,900 by the end of
gy, which commands a significant portion technology is accelerating, with subscrip- the first quarter, demonstrating sustained
of the market with 548,000 subscriptions. tions skyrocketing to 27,800 a 128% in- demand for dedicated communication ser-
Meanwhile, Fixed Broadband Wireless Ac- crease from the previous quarter’s 12,000. vices. This report highlights the dynamic
cess (FBWA) and Digital Subscriber Line Data usage through mobile broadband growth and technological advancement of
(xDSL) technologies account for 19% and services has also increased significantly, Jordan's telecommunications landscape,
12% of the market, respectively. Data con- totaling 610 million gigabytes. The average showcasing the nation's shift towards dig-
sumption on fixed broadband has surged, monthly consumption per subscription has ital connectivity and enhanced consumer
reaching approximately 1.249 billion gi- risen to 26 gigabytes, compared to 19 gi- engagement with modern communication
gabytes. The average monthly usage per gabytes last year, reflecting a 37% growth. solutions.

GSMA Predicts APAC Mobile Economy to Hit $1 Trillion

The mobile economy of the Asia Pacific see even greater advancements enabled lion (51% penetration) to 1.8 billion (61%)
was predicted to grow by US$130 billion by 5G applications such as smart factories, in 2030. Data traffic will quadruple between
by 2030 and hit US$1 trillion, due to faster smart-grids and IoT-enabled devices. While, 2023 and 2030. Commercial standalone 5G
adoption of 5G technologies in the region. financial services and public administration networks are live in seven APAC nations:
The GSMA said in a report, mobile technol- are expected to benefit as they turn to 5G Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines, Sin-
ogies and services generated 5.3% of GDP to digitally transform services and opera- gapore, South Korea, and Thailand. This
across the region in 2023, this amounted to tions. The GSMA forecast that the contri- will help in fuelling the predicted growth
US$880 billion of economic value. Manu- bution of the mobile industry to the APAC alongside 5G Advanced, RedCap and AI,
facturing and fintech were highlighted have economy will outpace the global average creating opportunities to launch new 5G
to been particularly enhanced by mobile of 12%, with a rate of 15%. The number of applications and kick start a fresh round
technologies. The former is expected to mobile internet users will grow from 1.5 bil- in 5G investments for enterprises and
consumers. The bulk of growth from the
mobile economy will stem from APAC’s de-
veloped markets such as Singapore, South
Korea, Australia and Japan. Large portions
of the region remain unconnected notably
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Key adop-
tion barriers include lack of affordability,
particularly for devices, and a lack of digi-
tal skills, particularly among older citizens.
Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the
GSMA, said: “Hundreds of millions of peo-
ple are still missing out. Addressing this us-
age gap and building online trust are crucial
to closing this digital divide and ensuring
everyone can benefit from the life-enhanc-
ing applications mobile can provide in area
such as finance, education, and health.”

65 JULY-SEPTEMBER 2024