Internet penetration rate reaches 83% among UAE nationals

09 Aug 2010

(MENAFN) A survey conducted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE showed that internet connection penetration in households has reached 66 percent among the total population in the UAE, while penetration rates among nationals is 83 percent, Khaleej Times reported.

The survey revealed that 87 percent of the household Internet connections are broadband, with this rate increasing to 95 percent among national households.Moreover, 4 percent of the households have at least one computer, and 72 percent of the UAE population aged between 15 and 74 used the Internet in the last 12 months, according to the survey.

About 65 percent of the TRA survey respondents have noticed reductions in prices of telecommunication services in the last year or two, and 71 percent have noticed the availability of more choices, offers or options in the telecommunication service operators? services, the survey said.

The survey also offers a comprehensive benchmark with many countries from all over the globe, which in turn measures the development achieved in the UAE ICT compared with other countries, TRA chose number of regions across the world for analysis. The selected regions were the Arab states, Europe, North America and Asia.

Using 10 commonly ICT indicators in the benchmarking the UAE came first among the Arab countries, while it compares relative positively on an international scale, some progress is still needed to be equivalent with the leading ICT countries.