How Broadband Makes Countries Richer

Several recent country studies have identified a correlation between extending access to high-speed broadband and boosting gross domestic product (GDP). The World Bank, for example, has conducted research estimating that a 10 percent rise in broadband penetration can increase a developing economy's GDP by as much as 1.38 percent. Further, a 2010 study of 33 OECD countries conducted by Ericsson, Arthur D Little and Chalmers University found that doubling broadband speed can boost GDP by 0.3 percent.
In Oman, this insight is a driving force behind the government's long-term sustainable development strategy - Vision 2020. Designed to diversify the economy away from crude oil income, Vision 2020 aims to spur growth in export-oriented manufacturing, improve the education system to foster critical thinking and innovation, and cultivate service-oriented industries such as information and communications technology (ICT), tourism and healthcare. To succeed in this effort, Omani policymakers realize that they must strengthen the country's ICT infrastructure to provide more businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers and consumers with access to high-speed internet services.
To this end, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has begun seeking consulting partners to assist in the implementation of its National Broadband Strategy (NBS). First launched in 2010, the NBS, which links to the government's Digital Oman (eOman) initiative, is not only designed to extend broadband access nationwide, but also to enhance market competitiveness in the ICT sector. Moreover, the TRA has launched initiatives specifically designed to bring broadband to remote and underserved areas of the country, including parts of the mountainous interior.
As noted in a recent article published by Oxford Business Group (OBG), Oman's broadband infrastructure is also poised to benefit from enhanced connections to international submarine cables. In May 2010, for instance, Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the first privately owned regional cable operator in the Middle East, indicated that its new submarine cable connecting the Gulf with India, Egypt and Europe would also link to Oman. In February 2012, GBI announced that the USD445 million cable was up and running. According to some industry analysts, this and similar cable projects in the region may lead to a 50 percent drop in the prices charged by Gulf telecommunications companies over the next year alone.
What is more, signs are positive that the recently established government-owned broadband company in Oman is making progress in its objective to begin supplying fiber-optic cables to network providers by the year 2015. "The company is a substantial step forward in enhancing the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate," according to Salim Al Ruzaiq, the head of the country's Information Technology Authority. "By 2015, we will begin to cross company's major milestones," he said.
All of this is good news for Oman, where roughly 50 percent of the population is between the ages of 10 and 29.
Marcus Wong writes on the effects of technology on growing nations. For more, he recommends reading from the Oxford Business Group library and for local insights, visit the Oxford Business Group Facebook.

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