UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia dominate the top three spots as the highest adopters of telecommunication services in the Arab World, says a report.

The UAE is the most connected country in the region according to a new report released by Arab Advisors Group, which provides research, analysis and forecasts of Arab communications, media and technology markets.

The annual results of Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM), as calculated by Arab Advisors, reveals that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia follow in second and third ranks respectively.

Arab Advisors calculates its TCCM by adding the household mainlines penetration, cellular penetration, and Internet users penetration rates in each country.

The household mainlines penetration is measured by dividing the residential mainlines by the number of households in each country. The TCCM shows the extent of connectivity of individuals in a certain country whether via fixed lines, cellular lines and/or Internet.

There will be an overlap since many individuals will be using these three communications technologies at the same time. However, the measure still yields an accurate and informative picture on the level of ICT services penetration in each country.

“Only four out of the nineteen countries covered in this year’s study have a total country connectivity measure that exceeds a 200 per cent,” said Andrawes Snobar, Arab Advisors’ research manager in the report.

“This indicates a substantial potential for more growth in most Arab markets, especially in the under penetrated Internet markets.”

The results for the rest of the Arab World came as follows: Qatar (205 per cent), Libya (199 per cent), Kuwait (184 per cent), Oman (170 per cent), Algeria (141 per cent), Jordan (141 per cent), Syria (129 per cent), Egypt (128 per cent), Tunisia (128 per cent), Morocco (127 per cent), Lebanon (125 per cent), Iraq (100 per cent), Palestine (95 per cent), Mauritania (74 per cent), Yemen (55 per cent) and in last place Sudan with a TCCM value of 34 per cent.

The report also reveals substantial – mostly cellular service driven - improvements in overall scores. The Arab broadband Internet markets also registered very positive growth. – TradeArabia News Service