Key Pathways to High-Speed Internet in the Middle East and North Africa : Spurring Competition and Building New Networks

Gelvanovska, Natalija ; Rogy, Michel ; Rossotto, Carlo Maria

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

关键词: USERS;    PHONE;    TECHNOLOGY;    BROADBAND SERVICE;    REGULATORY FRAMEWORK;   

RP-ID  :  96248

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Most countries of the Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA) region are falling behind in their questto develop high-speed Internet for rapid socioeconomicdevelopment. Despite young adults’ rising use of socialnetworking tools and solid progress in a few countries, mostof the region’s Internet remains hobbled by monopolized,inadequate infrastructure; weak investment incentives; andhigh costs. High-speed (broadband) Internet can driveeconomic and social transformations. To realize thatpotential, a recent World Bank study finds that MENAcountries must pursue a three-pronged approach: reduce costsby fully liberalizing access to the existing Internetinfrastructure; support the resulting competition withindependent national regulators working within a harmonizedregional framework of regulation; and promote investments innew fiber-optic networks and other ultrafast broadbandinfrastructure (including Long-Term Evolution or LTE)alongside existing technologies. With these measures, plusaggressive strategies for sharing public worksinfrastructure and subsidies for rural access, MENA canleapfrog its current information and communication bottlenecks.