Diplomatic fallout thwarts Gaza telecoms rollout

From tech engineers and software designers to teenagers and businessmen, many in Gaza were eagerly awaiting a shipment from Palestinian mobile company Wataniya.

The cargo included long-coveted technology to set up a 3G mobile network, the first of its kind in the occupied territory. A sizable part of that shipment, though, never made it.

On April 2, as peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian authorities seemed close to breakdown, Wataniya Palestine CEO Fayez Husseini told the Financial Times that the steel and cement it needed to build its network infrastructure “were not allowed in.”

The block delays Wataniya’s ability to bring its services to Gaza -- services that many had hoped would invigorate the local telecom market by introducing much-needed competition. This case has been particularly frustrating for Gazans, many of whom argue that their IT sector is inherently impaired by inferior networks.

Mobile services like phone banking, which are taking off in some of the world’s poor, rural communities, aren’t on offer in Gaza. Nascent IT entrepreneurs battle power cuts and slow Internet service to conduct business -- delays that make them uncompetitive within the region.