Oman ranks fifth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the ICT industry continues to develop rapidly across the region, behind Qatar, the highest-ranked MENA country at 23rd, United Arab Emirates (25th), Bahrain (29th) and Saudi Arabia (31st). The report notes that: 'Gulf Co-operation Council states have sharply improved their overall performances and have continued their investments to make ICT one of the key national industries that attempt to diversify and transform their economies'. This is reflected in Oman's global ranking.
Focusing on the Sultanate's gains this year, Dr Salem ben Nasser al Ismaily, Chairman of the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (PAIPED), said: "Oman's ranking places the country's ICT readiness ahead of the large emerging BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, showing that investment in the sector is seen as a key factor in developing business and human capacity.
The report also reflects the Sultanate's strong leadership and focus on ICT as an economic and social driver.
We believe the impact of His Majesty's 2012 National Broadband Strategy will become more evident over time.
"Given the investment and effort being made the Strategy will deliver significant returns." The Sultanate's overall performance within a fiercely competitive industry shows consistent improvement across many of the report's indicators, in particular the quality of ICT infrastructure, usage levels and social impact ratings, all show improvements.
Major gains can be seen in the rise of household personal computers and the sharp increase of smartphone devices which has risen to 58 per cent of the population. Data has been identified as a key driver for developing business and Oman has successfully introduced 4G broadband, placing the country's internet provision on par side with the best in the world. Oman's mobile tariffs have dropped by almost 50 per cent and broadband costs have also decreased, placing the Sultanate 34th in the world and first in the GCC, representing a remarkable improvement of 48 places from 2012.
The penetration of mobile broadband access has nearly doubled in the past 12 months and mobile phone subscriptions are approaching 200 per cent, an average of two subscriptions per person, and places Oman amongst the highest globally. The Nordic countries dominate the report with Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark all ranking in the top 10. Whereas the main driver for innovation in Scandinavia is business, the main proponent of ICT in Oman has been the Government's commendable efforts in line with His Majesty's vision to transform Oman into a sustainable, knowledge-based economy.
Oman is 34th in the world for ICT political and regulatory environment and 33rd for business and innovation environment conditions, placing it above many much larger economies including Korea, Spain and China.
Oman also ranks 21st in the world for government usage of ICT, placing the Sultanate in the top 25 per cent in the world for enhanced online processes that are helping citizens access a broad range of e-services.
Dr Al Ismaily concluded by stating: "The government is committed to putting ICT to work for social and economic development, and driving the changes necessary to ensure it is used effectively. We recognise that technology is a powerful tool for transforming the way people do business, communicate with each other and access information.
"Moreover, if we are to increase Oman's national competitiveness we must ensure that our ICT training efforts are accelerated - and that the up-take of ICT courses at university continues to rise. The World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report clearly indicates that ICT education is an area Oman has to focus on."
---
Quelle/Source: Zawya, 14.04.2013
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
