ICT
From The Report: Jordan 2018
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Holding the potential to become a major economic growth driver, Jordan’s ICT sector has seen decades of robust telecoms expansion and a liberalisation agenda launched in the early 2000s, supporting rapid growth in mobile penetration and internet usage. Jordan’s ICT sector has been the focus of a series of recent government reforms aimed at supporting macroeconomic growth, with new lending programmes and multiple tax incentives supporting tech firms and IT service providers. The same cannot be said for telecoms operators, which face one of the world’s highest sector-specific tax burdens, with ongoing government efforts to accelerate fiscal consolidation remaining a cause for concern among stakeholders. Recent sector development strategies have identified multiple ICT business lines offering considerable private sector investment opportunities, with the ongoing e-government services and digitisation drive expected to support private sector growth, enabling sustainable long-term development and the eventual transformation into a knowledge-based economy. This chapter contains an interview with Ghazi Al Jobor, CEO, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A major contributor: Strategies target transformation into a digital economy and leading regional centre
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Holding the potential to become a major economic growth driver, Jordan’s ICT sector has seen decades of robust telecoms expansion and a liberalisation agenda launched in the early 2000s, supporting rapid growth in mobile penetration and internet usage. Jordan is slated to benefit from rising next-generation mobile broadband adoption, while its broader ICT sector has been the focus of a series of recent government reforms aimed at supporting macroeconomic growth, with new lending programmes…

Interview

Evolving together: Ghazi Al Jobor, CEO, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, on adapting regulations as the industry grows
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Interview:Ghazi Al Jobor How are local operators diversifying their services, and which new digital services will drive growth? GHAZI AL JOBOR: Service providers have started moving away from traditional telecommunications services to new digital services, such as e-wallets and near field communication, data bundles with specific over-the-top (OTT) applications and smart Internet of Things (IoT) to provide small-scale solutions for the home – just to name a few. Increased demand for high-speed…

Analysis

Getting connected: Initiatives to expand e-government services support the ongoing digital transformation
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E-government services will play an important role in supporting Jordan’s mid-term development strategy. The Jordan Economic Growth Plan (JEGP) 2018-22 targets 12% annual growth in the ICT sector during the period. Planned improvements to the kingdom’s business environment entail launching new online business licensing and other services, while efforts to crack down on corruption and boost government revenue inflows will depend on expansion of e-government services, particularly in the…