Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The market for mobile phone networks, services and data traffic continues to rise in the Middle East and North Africa region to a large extent, despite the decline in growth for the year 2020 due to the turmoil of the financial markets in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The International Association of Mobile Networks has predicted that nearly 280 million people in the region (45% of the population) will be connected to the Internet via mobile phone by the end of 2020. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the impact of the digital divide for nearly 350 million people in the region. They are still unable to connect to the internet via mobile.
With digital communications expected to play a more central role in society after Covid-19, it is now more important than ever to address the barriers to mobile Internet use and usage in the region. While Covid-19 appears to have slowed the deployment of 5G networks in markets outside of the GCC, Arab Gulf Cooperation Council leaders have continued to invest in technology, and 5G activities are expected to attract non-Gulf countries in 2021.
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