Jordan: year in review (page 2 of 2)

Saraya Aktau will comprise a five star hotel, villas for sale and rent as well as a spa on a site covering around four million square feet.

Telecom and IT

Jordan's telecom industry continues to set the regional benchmark for an open market largely free from governmental restriction. Three GSM operators - Zain, Orange and Umniah - fight for market share in a nation of just over six million people, while a fourth operator, Xpress, provides services via an integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN).

Telecom operators in the kingdom have much to compete for as the country has an effective mobile penetration rate of just 47.9 per cent as of July of this year. Nael Halawa, Managing Partner of Jordan's Globitel, told AME Info that competition in the Jordanian telecom market has greatly benefited the consumer. 'It has meant operators need to work hard on developing innovative services. Jordanian consumers are increasingly technologically minded and they have become very selective,' he said.

The Jordan Telecom Group, supported by its majority shareholder France Telecom, set its sights on regional expansion by acquiring a controlling stake in the Bahrain-based Lightspeed Communications. The new tie-up will see the roll-out of a range of new services in Bahrain, including bundled broadband packages aimed at the residential market, small and medium sized enterprises as well as the corporate sector.

Meanwhile, in the IT sector, a strategic partnership between the kingdom's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) and Microsoft, which was first established in 2003, was renewed until 2009. The multi-million dollar tie-up will see Microsoft, via its strategic partner, the General Computers and Electronics Company, provide software licences, training and technical support to various governmental departments.

In September, Jordanian technology solutions and business consulting services company Optimiza announced its regional launch. Listed at the Amman Stock Exchange under the name Al Faris, Optimiza was formed in 2007 as the result of a merger of no less than nine IT firms.

The firm aims to be a leader in handling the increasing demand for quality systems integration, consulting and outsourcing across the region. In addition to its corporate offices in Jordan, the firm has regional operations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait and Libya.