This report explored the status of the development of broadband infrastructure as a foundation for digital transformation and a prerequisite to the socioeconomic development of the Middle East and North Africa as part of an effort to explore Internet connectivity in the region. The study follows up on Internet Society’s report Middle East and North Africa Internet Infrastructure that was published in 2020, by investigating the developments of broadband infrastructure across the Arab region until 2021 while examining the ramifications of the digital divide and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the network performance and the Internet development plans. The report provides an analysis of recent statistics and findings on connectivity to identify potential routes to address related challenges, and underlines policy recommendations, business models, and potential technologies to further improve network connectivity in the Arab countries.
In terms of accessibility and digital inclusion, the report concluded that the situation in the Arab region is not far off from the global trend, with improvement in the inclusive Internet Index over most of the countries, reaching up to 80% in countries Kuwait, and close to 55% in Algeria. This indicates that there is a gap in broadband availability and digital inclusion that needs to be addressed. The recommendation is to bridge the infrastructure gap through a paradigm shift from providing infrastructure and access to encouraging usage of the existing infrastructure to add or create value vis-à-vis the allocation of resources and policy decisions.
In the effort toward ubiquitous access, governments of the region need to clarify their role in infrastructure rollout depending on the economic setup of the market. Community networks and other complementary access solutions need to be codified and made possible for communities to establish last-mile connectivity complementing existing networks in a gesture towards the importance of upgrading regulations across MENA. Revisiting national broadband plans is also needed through establishing a transparent collaborative process between pertinent stakeholders.
New technologies must also be leveraged to support inclusion efforts, including low Earth orbit satellites (LEO) with a focus on coordination and collaboration in the development of harmonized laws and regulations to reap the benefits of LEO and IXPs.
Reliable access is another aspect of the study, where there is a need for more international peering and connectivity reaching Arab countries, through IXPs as close as possible to users. This contributes to overall network performance and resilience, in particular with Data Infrastructure and service delivery.
The COVID-19 pandemic showed the need for long-term policies that make use of available technologies and connectivity to empower societies to carry on even through unpredictable hindrances. It offered an opportunity to accelerate adoption. This can be done through regional initiatives focusing on accelerating access to digital content while addressing the digital divide, which hampers the capacity of individuals and societies, as well as focusing on affordability and availability as part of economic recovery strategies.
The report includes four main sections, Understanding the Connectivity Gap in the Arab Region, Access Infrastructure, Network Resilience, Network Resilience, and the COVID-19 crisis. Each section includes relevant recommendations that can be implemented by governments and different stakeholders in the region.
