Telecom Lead Middle East: By March 2012, WiMAX networks,
one of the fixed broadband technologies, were commercially deployed in thirteen
Arab countries.
Some operators only offer WiMAX for corporate uses,
according to the Arab Advisors Group analyzed the residential WiMAX broadband
rates in nine Arab countries (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, and UAE).
The report analyzes residential WiMAX broadband rates of
the 2 Mbps download offered by regional WiMAX operators as of March 2012.
The effective total monthly cost of residential WiMAX (for the average 2 Mbps
speed) in the Arab region averages $76 per month. Kuwait’s WiMAX operators
offer the highest rates in the Arab region, while the lowest rates are
available in Jordan.
The UAE ranks first in the WiMAX Affordability Measure for the 2 Mbps speed
average.
“It is noteworthy that a number of regional WiMAX
operators bundle some free local VoIP minutes within their broadband plans.
This is done in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,” said Hussam Barhoush, Project
Manager at Arab Advisors Group.
When including the GDP per capita and GDP per household in the analysis, the
Arab Advisors Group devised the WiMAX Affordability Measure (WAM). Basically,
the total annual cost of WiMAX broadband in a country was calculated as a
percent of that country’s GDP per capita and GDP per household, whereby the
higher the score the less affordable the service would be in that country.
