Jordan - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Jordan - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

4G services in Jordan have driven recent growth

Jordan is a unique market in many ways, due to the huge population growth in the last decade and the influx of refugees into the country. Jordan has a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure and the industry is preparing itself for the next wave of developments relating to 5G and IoT/M2M.

The development of a national broadband network based on fibre is well underway and Orange Jordan remains the largest fixed network operator in the kingdom. Zain Jordan is also investing in fibre-based network infrastructure.

The mobile sector in Jordan is challenging for the three major operators as they all hold roughly the same market share and are highly competitive. Zain Jordan and Orange Jordan both launched 4G LTE services ahead of Umniah - which saw a decline in mobile subscribers in 2016 as a result.

However, the launch of 4G LTE services in general, has led to a growth in data revenues for the mobile operators and expanding data offerings will be a key focus area moving forward.

Jordan is host to a growing number of ICT companies and has emerged as a technology start up hub for the Middle East, made possible due to a focus on ICT education and a regulatory environment conducive to ICT investment. It has also made great progress in the digital financial services area with support from the Central Bank of Jordan.

While Jordan is demonstrating positive developments towards fixed and mobile broadband development, it has some challenges including the ongoing influx of refugees from Iraq and Syria which places strain on the countries' economy, infrastructure and society in general.

Recent developments:

Mobile broadband is a key growth area for Jordan, with 4G services driving growth in data.

The fixed broadband network is growing with the national broadband network fibre-based deployment well underway.

Jordan is host to a growing number of ICT companies and has emerged as a technology start up hub for the Middle East.

Jordan is considered to have one of the most highly taxed telecoms sectors in the region.

The Jordan TRC has developed an initial document outlining the need to regulate IoT developments in the kingdom.

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Jordan Telecom Group/Orange, Zain Jordan, Batelco/Umniah, Virgin Mobile MEA.