A GULF-BASED Internet expert is encouraging governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to lower costs of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services across the region in order to promote free access of information to the public.
That is the only way governments can expect to encourage the use of e-government services, online literacy and access to information, said Dubai-based International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) GCC Foundation director general Jamil Ezzo.
"Development of a knowledge-based society depends on free access to information, which is furthered by higher penetration of Internet services," he said.
"Providing affordable access to such services across a wide spectrum of society forms a crucial element in any government strategy for implementing a system of e-governance and introducing online practices in line with international ways of government management.
"It is the responsibility of the concerned authorities to come together and formulate policies to increase broadband penetration levels across the region."
He said the average broadband connection penetration rate of GCC countries compared poorly with the world's broadband leader South Korea, which had a rate of 25.58 per cent as of June last year.
That is despite a surge of 250pc in the number of GCC broadband users from 513,000 to 1.8 million in just two years.
Bahrain and the UAE currently lead the GCC average broadband connection penetration rates with rates of 12.94pc and 12.9pc respectively, said Mr Ezzo.
But despite a 30pc drop in average GCC monthly DSL subscription fees from $108 (BD40.824) to $76 (BD28.728), fees were still 271pc higher than the actual cost of similar services in the rest of the world - where the average monthly subscription price at the end of 2003 was just over $32 (BD12.096).
"DSL services in the GCC are extremely expensive when compared to global standards in terms of absolute price, connection speeds and the levels of services provided," said Mr Ezzo.
"This negatively impacts the level of IT and Internet penetration and hinders the wider adoption of e-government initiatives and the establishment of a knowledge society based on open access to information."
Increased intervention from governments and regulatory authorities would help reduce costs, but was only taking place gradually in the region, said Mr Ezzo.
"It is important for governments to step up their measures to increase the number of subscribers in the region by driving down broadband service pricing," he added.
"Intervention of the concerned authorities, creating price competition and the establishment of independent telecom regulatory boards to help in determining the actual cost of providing the service will enhance the general availability of higher bandwidth capacity in the GCC.
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