CAIRO: Local internet subscribers will have less to complain about after a recent study by the Arab Advisors Group revealed that Egypt offers the lowest rates for ADSL subscribers across the region. The study that examined 19 countries in the Arab world found that Egypt and Algeria charge the least as opposed to Iraq and Mauritania who have the highest ADSL fees. However, when rates are analyzed in relation to each country s GDP per capita, the Gulf countries and Libya lead the pack, according to an Arab Advisors Group press statement. The countries included in the study are: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania. The report, "ADSL Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison provides a comprehensive analysis of the ADSL rates offered by the main internet service providers (ISPs) in the Arab region during October 2008. In addition, it also details the availability of download speeds in each of the aforementioned countries. The report compared rates for the speeds of 256, 512 and 1024 Kbps. Moreover, it analyzed the availability of different download speeds in the 19 Arab countries. "When including the GDP per capita in the analysis, the Arab Advisors Group concluded with the ADSL Affordability Measure (AAM). Basically, the total annual cost of ADSL in a country was calculated as a percent of that country's GDP per capita, whereby the higher the ratio the less affordable the service is in that country, explained Hussam Barhoush, senior analyst at the Arab Advisors Group. For the 512 Kbps download stream, the total annual cost of residential ADSL services in the Arab region ranges from a minimum of $ 194.4 per year in Egypt to a maximum of $ 2,100 per year in Iraq. The average ADSL annual cost is $ 709.1 per year, with a median of $ 615.5. For the 256 Kbps speed, this calculation indicates that Mauritania has the most expensive service relative to GDP as the annual cost is 92.5 percent of GDP per capita. The ADSL Affordability Measure (AAM) for the 512 Kbps download speed, calculation indicates that Mauritania has the most expensive service relative to GDP, followed by Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Yemen then Jordan. Egypt came in eighth place with 11.9 percent. Internet service providers in Egypt have been continuously offering different payment plans which made the internet more affordable. Local ISP Link ADSL has recently decreased the subscription fees for the 512 kbps from LE 255 to LE 242, for the 256 kbps from LE 360 to LE 342 and for the 512 kbps from LE 540 to LE 510. Mobile service operators have also joined in the internet market recently and offered relatively affordable ADSL rates for mobile internet. Internet and information technology experts agree that having low ADSL rates in the country encourages everyone to use the internet. Having the internet affordable by the majority has made it a forum for the people, especially the youth, to express their opinions which what we have see happen with Facebook, said Hassan Abou Taleb, a researcher at Al Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies. We are living in the internet era therefore everyone has to have access to it, he added. In 2004, the Arab Advisors Group released a similar report which covered 17 countries and revealed that Egypt has the lowest total cost of residential ADSL service in the region while Syria had the highest cost of ADSL service.
