Broadband services will stimulate Tunisia’s Internet market growth with revenues projected to exceed 74 million by 2011.

May 07, 2007

A new report from Arab Advisors Group fully analyzes Tunisia’s Internet and Datacomm market and profiles all its major operators.

The Internet market in Tunisia was liberalized in 1997. It is a competitive market with twelve ISPs catering to the public, private and educational sectors. Internet accounts in Tunisia grew at a CAGR of 23.8% between 2002 and 2006 reaching around 180,000 by end of 2006, a penetration rate of 1.8%. The incumbent operator, Tunisie Telecom is the sole fixed and datacomm infrastructure provider. It provides X.25, Frame Relay, and leased lines services. The Ministry of Communication Technologies is planning to have a tender for a second fixed line operator by end of 2007. Therefore a second fixed line licensee is expected to enter the market in 2008, which is also expected to provide datacomm services.

In January 2007, Tunisie Telecom setup 130,000 new ADSL ports to provide the service to underserved zones that are isolated from telecom services, thereby improving the overall quality of Internet service in the country. There are plans to have another tender for 250,000 ADSL ports in 2007.

WiMAX is currently of primary importance in Tunisia. On March 20, 2006, during his speech on the 50th anniversary of Independence, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali announced the government’s adoption of WiMAX technologies for broadband Internet access. According to the Ministry of Communication Technologies, WiMAX is considered as an inseparable part of the public telecommunication network. Therefore the government does not plan on having separate tenders for awarding licenses assigning frequencies for using WiMAX.

A new report, “Tunisia’s Internet and Datacomm Landscape Report 2007” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Telecoms Strategic Research Service subscribers on April 30, 2007. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 950. The 70-page report, which has 59 detailed exhibits, provides a comprehensive analysis of Tunisia’s Internet and Datacomm market.

Any investment in this report will count towards an annual Strategic Research Service subscription should the service be acquired within three months from purchasing the report.
The investment can also count towards attending Arab Advisors’ fourth annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 4 & 5 2007 at the Four Seasons in Amman. More information on the conference can be seen at http://www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/schedule.htm

Please contact the Arab Advisors Group for full information on the conference, agenda and sponsorship opportunities.

Please contact the Arab Advisors Group to get a copy of the report’s Table of Contents.

“The Arab Advisors Group projects the Internet subscribers to grow at a CAGR of 25% between 2007 and 2011, growing from 214,000 subscribers by end of 2007 to reach 524,000 subscribers by end of 2011.” Ms. Serene Zawaydeh, a Consultant at Arab Advisors Group wrote in the report. “The Internet revenues are expected to reach US$ 74.7 million by end of 2011, with the growth of the broadband subscribers stimulating the growth in Internet revenues.”

The Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region has already produced over close to 780 reports on the Arab World’s communications and media markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom). To date, Arab Advisors Group has served over 415 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients.