The status of IPTV in the Arab World: Still in a nascent stage pending a wider broadband adoption

Still as broadband adoption increases in the region, several operators in the Arab World have plans to implement IPTV in the near future.

IPTV remains with a minuscule footprint in the Arab World. Four operators in three countries in the MENA region offer commercial IPTV services: These are the UAE, Qatar and Morocco. Reportedly, there are plans by operators in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt to launch IPTV during this year or by 2008.

A new report, 'An Overview of IPTV in the Arab World' was released to the Arab Advisors Group's Media Strategic Research Service subscribers on August 28, 2007. The 39-page report, which has 22 detailed exhibits, provides an overview of IPTV in the Arab World. The report includes details of IPTV services that the above mentioned operators offer; furthermore, the report includes plans of the other operators in the region that are preparing to launch the service in the near future.

'IPTV is basically a fusion of voice, video, and data service. It is not a new idea, but the increased adoption of broadband Internet has made it more feasible,' Ms. Faten Bader, Arab Advisors Research Analyst wrote in the report. 'The IP-based platform offers significant advantages such as: Video on Demand (VoD), the advantage of triple play, the automatic archiving of the Video broadcast in Real Media format, making the TV viewing experience more interactive and personalized, the opportunity for integration and convergence, and it allows the operator to report statistics of programs/channels/adverts watched.' Ms. Bader added.