Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
6
Supply Demand
Fixed Broadband
Coverage (ADSL)
Mobile
Broadband
Coverage (3G)
Mobile
Broadband
Coverage (4G)
Fixed
Broadband
Penetration
(households)
Mobile
Broadband
Penetration
(population) Iran, Iraq,
Kyrgyzstan, Mali,
Mauritania,
Morocco,
Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Syria,
Sudan, Tajikistan,
Togo, Tunisia,
Turkmenistan,
Uganda,
Uzbekistan, Yemen
Iran, Iraq,
Kyrgyzstan, Mali,
Mauritania,
Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Syria,
Sudan, Tajikistan,
Togo, Tunisia,
Turkmenistan,
Uganda,
Uzbekistan, Yemen
Indonesia, Iran,
Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait,
Kyrgyzstan,
Libya, Mali,
Mauritania,
Morocco,
Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria,
Pakistan,
Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria,
Tajikistan, Togo,
Tunisia,
Turkmenistan,
Uganda,
Uzbekistan,
Yemen
Mauritania,
Morocco,
Mozambique,
Niger, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Senegal,
Sierra Leone,
Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Tajikistan,
Togo,
Turkmenistan,
Uganda,
Uzbekistan,
Yemen
Source: International Telecommunications Union; GSMA Intelligence; Regulatory authorities; Telecom Advisory Services
analysisIn general terms, some OIC Member Countries in the Middle East (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, UAE) and Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan) tend to be fairly advanced in terms of
supply and penetration of broadband services. On the other hand, a large group of African
countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo)
are still at a limited stage of broadband development both in terms of supply and demand.
Finally, a number of countries in North Africa (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco), Sub-Saharan Africa
(Cote d’Ivoire), Middle East (Kuwait) and Asia (Brunei, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan)
exhibit advanced service coverage of the population combined with low penetration.
Advanced OIC Member Countries exhibiting high broadband service coverage and adoption are
facing the challenge of building a forward-looking world-class infrastructure that will position
them in a leading position in terms of digitization. This entails deploying fiber optics in their
last mile, completing their 4G wireless coverage and preparing to deploy 5G. Supply related
policies for these countries need to recognize that few broadband providers (typically the
incumbent telecommunications operators) are capable of tackling these challenges. Along
these lines, governments need to consider policies that entail appropriate incentives to
warrant next generation infrastructure deployment. They typically include a range of tax
benefits and regulatory holidays.
Countries with advanced coverage but limited penetration face classical demand gap reduction
challenges. First and foremost, governments have to recognize that increased service adoption
is dependent on lowering the total operating cost incurred by consumers for purchasing the
technology. This can be achieved through service subsidies or modification of tax regimes, like
exempting low-income population from paying import duties on terminals or VAT on service.
Moving to the digital literacy domain, governments need to put in place a series of training