Somewhere Out There

It could be a setting for National Geographic - a desolate stretch of land in the middle of the Jordanian desert. Three older men and a younger one are sitting around a smoldering fire in a traditional Bedouin tent, brewing tea.

Two tourists, a German and an American join them.

Suddenly a shrill peeping breaks the peaceful setting.

The Bedouin rummage frantically through their camel skin bags until one of the men pulls out a small and all-too-familiar handheld device. The tourists look on in disbelief.

Is this a commercial for one of the big mobile phone manufacturers, they ask themselves.

Then they all laugh and the conversation turns to a universal topic: mobile technology.

The young Jordanian has a Siemens, one of the older men a Motorola; the German has a Nokia. Each of them passes their phones around the fire, politely admiring them and asking about their functionality and network compatibility.

Mobile worldwide

Yes, this is the middle of the desert in a traditional community. And yes, the setting is thousands of miles away from the centers of commerce and technology.

But mobile phones are after all the way of the future worldwide.

According to recent statistics gathered by the German Trade Association for Information Technology and Communication, there are currently 958 million mobile phone users in the world.

And these are by no means only in the first tier industrial nations.

One of the fastest growing markets for mobile telecommunications is the smaller, so-called thresh-hold nations, where traditional telephone service is often under-serviced or non-existent for significant portions of the population.

Nowhere else is this more obvious than at this year’s CeBIT.

For the first time in the computer fair's history, smaller countries on the thresh-hold of information technology and mobile telecommunications are taking up a noticeable section of the halls.

They may not be as big as those for the German or American companies, but the stands for mobile phone service in countries like Jordan and the United Arab Emirates are attracting attention.

And for good reason.

Mobile telecommunications is a rapidly growing industry in these countries with plenty of room for foreign investment.

Jordan jumps ahead

In Jordan, for example, there were more than 900,000 mobile telephone lines registered in 2001, compared to only 450,000 traditional land lines.

For many households, the only way to call a neighbor or relative is by way of cell phone.

The trend for the future is clearly mobile phones, said Mr. Bilal O. Abuzeid, marketing coordinator for the Association for Information Technology of Jordan. Land lines are more expensive to build and maintain so it doesn't make much sense to spend money investing in their construction, he told DW-WORLD at CeBIT.

Mobile telecommunication networks, on the other hand, are relatively inexpensive. There are no extensive wires and large masts criss-crossing the countryside.

And mobile phone relay stations can be erected specifically in the regions with the highest concentration of users, thereby getting a better return on investment.

continued on page 2

An encouraging hand

Compared to Europe and the US, governments in developing countries must take an active role in promoting the benefits of mobile telephone networks and foreign investment in the sector.

Their involvement is crucial for the establishment of a competitive and sustainable telecommunications market in the country.

The Jordanian government recognized early on the benefits of mobile phone networks and set about creating a positive framework for their expansion.

In 1999 the telecommunications market was privatized making way for two fast growing mobile phone service providers, Fastlink and Mobilecom.

Fastlink is the largest with about 700,000 lines spread over six numbers. In the near future, the company hopes to add a seventh number increasing the lines available to over a million.

Mobilecom, which emerged from the state-owned Jordan Telecom, is an example of a successful international partnership with France Telecom.

In just two years since its foundation, the company has established some 200,000 lines with more being added each month.

The rapidly growing population in Jordan and the above-average educational level for the region means that the telecommunications market will continue to expand and take on new directions in information technology.

As Mr. Abuzeid explained, the government together with the private sector is striving to develop an export-oriented technology service sector, to become a regional leader in the IT field and to generate high value jobs for the Jordanian people.

Modern technology meets tradition

In many ways Jordan is still a very traditional culture.

However, unlike other countries on the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan is fully embracing the wave of modern technology. The government and private sector regard the IT and telecommunications branch as the country's future.

As a land with few natural resources, Jordan has a very limited number of export articles.

The agricultural sector suffers under regular droughts, and the once-promising tourist industry has come to a standstill.

Therefore the government is banking on IT and telecommunication technology as a major source of future national income.

Ordinary people are also responding positively to the new developments in their traditional lifestyle. For many of the Jordanians, especially those who live in remote desert regions, the mobile telecommunication technology is essential for contact with the outside world.

In the world of the Bedouin, there are no phone lines and even post offices are far and few.

To outsiders a cellular phone in a traditional nomad's tent may appear incongruent, but for the inhabitants it's a become a part of every day life.