Jordan's Telecom Infrastructure

 

Infrastructures

Liberalization Status

Comments
Public telecommunication network

Monopoly until 2004

 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
Local networks for voice telephony Monopoly until 2004 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
Leased Lines Monopoly until 2004 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
Broadcasting and cable TV Fully liberalized market Television and Radio operated by the Government.  Three local TV stations.  About 30% of Jordanians have satellite TV [2]
     
Voice Telephony    
Local communication Monopoly until 2004 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
Domestic long-distance Monopoly until 2004 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
International communication Monopoly until 2004 Jordan Telecom (preferred status ends 2004)
     
Mobile Communication    
GSM digital Open Market Fastlink and Mobilcom  (20% of Jordanians have mobile phones [2])
Paging Open Market Three Operators (Jordan Radio Paging, National Group for Communications, Jordan Telecom)
     
Internet Service Providers Fully liberalized market 10 ISPs (major players: Global One and Nets)

The Kingdom is currently linked to the rest of the world via the FLAG (Fiber Optic Link Around the Globe) Network.  FLAG is an undersea cable that passes through Japan, the U.S., and the Middle East through a node in Aqaba (which is a city in the south of Jordan) [6].  FLAG provides high-bandwidth connection with the rest of the world.  According to “Jordan E-Government: An Implementation Plan” the Jordanian government has the following government networks [6]:

1.      The Royal Air Force network: a mixture of fiber-optic and coaxial cable technologies.  The Air Force plans to have a complete fiber optic system by 2002.

2.      The Armed Forces is based on microwave technology and currently spans 90 percent of the country.

3.      The Department of Public Security network uses a fiber-optic technology in all major cities.  It current connects 200 police stations.

The above networks, however, are designed mainly for military and government use.  Where the government’s network backbone is technologically advanced, the civilian backbone network is not.  The majority of Jordanians currently connect to the Internet at speeds no faster than 33.6 kbps at very high costs.  .  The high cost of connecting to the Internet hinders the expansion of the usage of the Internet by civilians and businesses.  It is essential to address this problem and provide the infrastructure where connecting to the Internet is feasible in order for the E-Government project to succeed.  Business cannot compete in the global market without the availability of fast and inexpensive Internet connection.

  Many of the government services require the coordination of government departments.  For example, although the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Department handles traffic violations, the actual penalty is paid to the Municipality of Amman.  Currently, people trying to renew their licenses would need to bring forth a letter from the Municipality certifying that all penalties have been paid.  If the departments’ databases were linked in way that would enable the sharing of information such as payment of fines, people would have to make the trip to the Municipality and stand in line to obtain the letter.  This linkage truly makes the process of license renewal faster and easier.

            IT capability that is currently found in Jordan exists mainly in Amman.  Other government agencies in other municipalities are outdated and in many cases are not even computerized.  Although most government ministries in Amman that provide business services are computerized, very few have an online presence.  “The IT capability of most of the Jordanian government exists solely for the administrative use of the particular agencies”[6].  The current situation is that municipalities other than Amman are not computerized and that greatly limits the delivery of E-Government services exclusively to Amman.  Even in Amman, the delivery will be limited due to the fact that Internet service is very expensive.