Who's who in Arab ADSL rates? The highest, the lowest and the fairest!

Mauritania has the highest ADSL cost, while Egypt has the lowest cost. When comparing these rates with the GDP per capita in each country, the GCC countries lead the pack.

ADSL remains the prevailing Internet broadband technology in the Arab World. Uptake is strong in many countries especially as ISPs launch promotions and reduce their rates. The Arab Advisors Group has analyzed the ADSL service provision and rates in the following Arab countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen.

The analysis from the Arab Advisors Group reveals valuable insights into the ADSL rates and total cost in the Arab world. The total annual cost of residential ADSL services for the 256 Kbps downstream speed in the Arab region ranges from a minimum of US$ 231 per year to a maximum of US$ 1,289 per year, while the average regional annual cost stood at US$ 600. As for the 512 Kbps download stream, the rates ranged from US$ 375 up to US$ 2,174, while the average regional annual cost stood at US$ 853.

"The Arab Advisors Group concluded with the ADSL Affordability Measure (AAM). The total annual cost of ADSL in a country was calculated as a % of that country's GDP per capita, whereby the higher the score the less affordable the service will be in that country. For the 256 Kbps download speed, this calculation indicates that Mauritania has the highest score of 199.4%, followed by Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE with the lowest score of 1.6%." Mr. Hussam Barhoush, Arab Advisors Research Analyst wrote in the report.

The ADSL Affordability Measure (AAM) for the 512 Kbps download speed, calculation indicates that Mauritania has the highest score of 336.2%, followed by Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar with the lowest rate of 1.5%.