Telecom Lead Middle East: Orange Jordan has invested $114
million to introduce 3G services and increase the broadband penetration rate in
the kingdom to drive economic growth. Orange Jordan has signed an agreement
with Ericsson to expand and modernize its 3G network to meet the demands of its
growing subscriber base.
“We have invested around $700 million on building
infrastructure in the last 10 years as an enabler, and we are the first to
introduce 3G in the country,” said Sami Smeirat, vice-president of Jordan
Telecom Group for Business Services and CEO of Jordan Data Communications.
Broadband helps drive economic growth by providing individuals
with the tools to take part in the globalised economy, according to a report in
Gulf News.
We cover around 95 per cent of the country with our
broadband network. We have 5,000km of fiber optic cable to businesses and are
increasing it by 2-3km per day. 85 percent of the phones used in the country
are smartphones and the remainder are conventional models,” Smeirat added.
According to Jordan’s Telecommunications Regulatory
Commission (TRC), mobile penetration reached 120 percent last year, with about
7.482 million subscribers. At the end of 2011, internet penetration rate stood
at 51 percent.
Of the total subscribers, 2.75 million were Jain Jordan,
followed by 2.693 million users subscribed to Orange Jordan and 2.038 million
subscribers to Umniah, according to TRC.
The other two operators Zain Jordan and Umniah plan to
launch 3G services this year. Zain Jordan is investing $112 million in 2012 and
Umniah plans to launch 3G services in the first half of the year.
“The developed network increased our international
business, where 30 per cent of the revenues are from wholesale services. We
have witnessed a shift in customer behaviour, largely as a result of
proliferation of smartphones and other types of internet-enabled phones,”
he said.
