Battle to roll out broadband hots up

With mobile subscriptions often exceeding the number of inhabitants in some Gulf countries, cash-rich, former monopolistic telecommunications operators are looking for a new revenue stream with growth potential. Increasingly, their eyes are alighting on providing high-speed Internet access - or broadband. High-speed Internet remains rare in the Gulf outside certain population pockets. A main problem for Arab households has been the cost: broadband and good-quality computers cost more in the Gulf than in many other markets, says Fouad Alaeddin, managing partner at Ernst & Young Middle East. There has also been a cultural resistance to the Internet in some parts of the region. Mr Alaeddin adds: "Many families worry that it could expose their children to unwanted influences." Telecoms providers have also had other priorities. Leading operators have focused on acquisitions of extra-regional operators or licences to expand, perhaps to the detriment of Internet services, analysts say. Telecoms companies also have to grapple with difficult decisions on whether to invest in physical infrastructure, such as extensive but expensive fibre optic cable networks, or wireless broadband.