Telecommunications sectors in several countries in the MENA region are presently
 
undergoing profound changes instigated by government authorities, which have
 
recently established new regulatory frameworks providing for the privatisation
 
of fixed and/or mobile market sectors that were previously State-monopolies.
 
The most recent and striking developments have taken place in Cyprus, Turkey,
 
Algeria and Morocco. In recent years these countries have all set up an independent
 
regulatory body for the telecoms sector and have drawn up timetables for privatisation
 
of the fixed and mobile telephony markets where applicable. The latest decisions
 
on these matters were taken in these countries during the first quarter of 2002.

In January 2003 Cyprus set a deadline for privatisation of all telecommunications
 
markets. The new regulatory authority, the Office of the Commissioner for Telecommunications
 
and Postal Regulation, created by the law of April 2001, plans to attribute
 
a second mobile telephony licence as of October 2002 and is considering the
 
attribution of a 3G mobile telephony licence. A public consultation was launched
 
by the regulator in March 2002 to establish the conditions for privatisation
 
of the fixed and mobile telephony markets.

In Turkey the laws of January 2000 and May 2001 provided for the creation of
 
an independent regulator, the Telecommunications Authority of the Republic of
 
Turkey (TK) and scheduled privatisation of the fixed telephony market, currently
 
monopolised by Turk Telecom, for January 2004. The privatisation of Turk Telecom
 
has been postponed twice and should not take place until 2003 due to the economic
 
recession in Turkey. As for mobile telephony, market conditions should soon
 
be more competitive following the launch of a fourth mobile telephony operator
 
in December 2001.

In Algeria the legislative framework adopted in 2000 created the Authority
 
for Postal and Telecommunications Regulation (APTR) and provided for the privatisation
 
of international calls in August 2002 and the long distance market in 2003,
 
with total privatisation of the telecoms market scheduled for 2004.In the meantime,
 
a State-owned company, Algeria Telecom, was created in March 2001 to operate
 
postal and telecommunications services, with a view to privatising this company.
 
The mobile telephony market was privatised in the summer of 2001 with the attribution
 
of a second GSM licence to the Egyptian operator Orascom Telecom, which launched
 
its services in February 2002. There are already plans to issue a third mobile
 
licence in December 2003.

Lastly, Morocco became a regional forerunner in 1997 with its creation of an
 
independent regulator, the National Agency for Telecommunications Regulation
 
(NATR), which began its activities in March 1998. The year 2002 should be a
 
key year for telecoms in Morocco with the continued privatisation of the traditional
 
operator Morocco Telecom (including the sale of 15% of the company, following
 
the sale of a 35% share to Vivendi Universal in December 2000) and the privatisation
 
of the fixed telephony market, initially scheduled for the end of 2001, but
 
eventually postponed until June 11th 2002 (with the launch of a bid for tenders
 
for a second licence for fixed telephony services). This will make Morocco the
 
first country in the region to allow competition in this market sector. As for
 
the mobile telephony market, it was privatised in 1999 with the attribution
 
of a second licence to the Médi Telecom group. There are plans to issue
 
a third mobile telephony licence in the year 2003.

The MENA report is divided into two sections:

 
The first section, presented in the form of an atlas, offers a comprehensive
 
analysis of developments affecting the various building blocks of the Information
 
Society and provides a comparative overview of the current situation in the
 
ICT sector in the following 19 MENA countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt,
 
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
 
Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Malta and Cyprus.

 
The second section covers five transversal topics governing North African and
 
Middle Eastern countries’ entry into the Information Society. The following
 
areas present both risks and opportunities for countries in the MENA region:

Fixed telephony, mobile telephony and internet markets in the MENA region:
 
growth in regional differences and forecasts through 2007

The creation and deployment of regional operators including Orascom Telecom,
 
Maroc Télécom and Bezeq

 
Dramatic growth in mobile telecoms services

 
Regulation: progress and delays to telecommunications privatisation

Does the MENA region have special characteristics?

 
In the framework of market assessment and evaluation (Volume 2, chap.1) the
 
19 countries have been sub-divided into different areas reflecting business
 
potential, investment opportunities and regional differences. These areas consist
 
of:

 
A "MENA" area covering all 19 countries analysed in this report

 
A "Menaland 15" area covering 15 countries ("MENA" minus
 
Israel, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey).

 
A "Menaland 4 "area consisting of 4 countries (Israel, Cyprus, Malta
 
and Turkey).

 
A "MEDA" area which contains the following countries: Morocco, Algeria,
 
Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

 
A "Gulf " area including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain,
 
the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

 
The report provides analysis of accessibility to telecoms services and revenues
 
for each of the fixed, mobile, "other" markets and for all of the
 
sub-groups and countries in the MENA region. It also offers assessments for
 
2002 and forecasts through 2007. The assessments offer an insight into the disparities
 
that currently exist between the 5 areas defined above and expected changes
 
in these differences over the next 5 years.