Kuwait was the first Arab nation to provide internet services

Tunisia was the first Arab country to install internet while Iraq came last

BEIRUT - Ezzeddeen Jradi

January 2003

Much analysis has been made on the shape the Internet will be taking. This is determined by breakthroughs in the Communication and Information Technology which trigger phases or turning points in the overall development of the Internet.

While these phases are global in their essence, they vary from one region to another as they become subject to local cultural, economic and other factors that affect the Internet’s growth. In the case of the Arab world, three overlapping phases, or waves, are discernible starting with the introduction of the Internet to the regional academic institutions.

The First Wave started with the first Internet access in the Arab World in 1991 when the Tunis-based Regional Institute for Computer Sciences and Telecommunications set up an IP connection on X.25 leased lines with the French Institute for Research on Computer Science and Control.

Commercial or public use of the Internet between 1994 and 1996 was a turning point, ushering in the Second Wave – when access was offered initially to businesses, or simultaneously to both businesses and individuals depending on the country. Kuwait was the first to offer public Internet access in 1994. It was followed by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco and Algeria in 1995. Except for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries moved straight into the Second Wave without having their academic institutions connected first.

Despite widespread Internet use at homes and offices in GCC countries and growing use in the rest of the Arab world, the Internet remains available to only small portions of the Arab people.

A trend towards mass use is now being led by educational institutions and some government initiatives. This trend heralds the start of the Third Wave, which will have all Arab students connected to the Internet, whether from schools, universities or vocational institutions. More layers of the Arab society will also gain free – or heavily subsidized – Internet access through dedicated government facilities or public kiosks. Rural areas, which are home to a large slice of Arab society, will have their first exposure to the Net at this stage.

The first clear signs of the advent of the Third Wave to the region is now taking place in Tunisia. In line with a government decree, all high-schools in Tunisia were connected to the Internet this year, and plans are underway to connect all the nation’s intermediate and primary schools.  

In a separate move, the state has replaced the concept of Internet cafes with Public Internet Centers, which are rigorously licensed as training and educational institutions. There are 300 of those centers operating in cities and big towns.

To expose the entire population to the Internet, the government this year launched a unique project which takes a bus transformed into an Internet lab to the rural areas. Tunisia also launched the Family Personal Computer project in April 2002, which offers families with limited income the chance to own a PC and peripherals at reduced prices paid by monthly installments.

The governments of Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE have also placed the Internet high in the education agenda. After connecting 500 schools to the Internet in September 2002, Jordan Telecom will have all schools in the Kingdom connected by the third quarter of 2004.

Egypt’s education minister announced in July a plan to provide Internet access to all public schools in September 2002. To provide Internet access to the underprivileged, who constitute the majority of the population, Egypt this year founded 300 Technology Access Community Centers and will raise the figure to 600 by end of 2002.

The trend of making the Internet accessible to the masses is still a long way from crossing the barriers of poverty, illiteracy and lack of infrastructure, which characterize much of the Arab people. However, there are more initiatives yet to be seen to speed up the pace the Third Wave.

Internet Introduction and Commercial Use in Arab States