The Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Arab States, ahead of ITU s World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014, opened today in Manama, Bahrain. The meeting, in session until 31 October, will assess the ongoing implementation of the Hyderabad Plan of Action agreed at the last edition of the Conference in 2010 and identify priority areas for ICT development strategies in the Arab region.

Regional programmes in the Arab region include the roll out of broadband connectivity, the transition to digital broadcasting, strengthening cybersecurity, development of Arab digital content, and access to open source software.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. TourÉ welcomed the preparatory meeting in Manama, noting that it comes at a time of outstanding growth in digital development, with cellular mobile penetration in the Arab region pushing 105 per cent by the year end. ITU s engagement in the Arab region has been growing rapidly, Dr TourÉ said. This is evident from the fact that last year alone Dubai was host to three important events: ITU Telecom World, the World Conference on International Telecommunications, and the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly. The ITU Connect Arab States Summit was held in Qatar in March; and next year, Doha will be the venue for ITU Telecom World 2014.

Speaking at the opening of the Regional Preparatory Meeting, ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said, We have seen extraordinary progress in ICT development, but at the same time we need to recognize the enormous challenges facing the ICT sector today, particularly in an era of rapidly growing data volumes; revenues which are static, or even falling; and of endemic under-investment in ICT infrastructure. That is why we need to further develop telecom and ICT services and encourage further investment.

Mr Mohammed Bubshait, Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Bahrain, said that the rapidly evolving ICT sector plays an important role in the growth and development of other sectors and that new initiatives, such as high-speed broadband, should focus on facilitating communications for people with special needs, smart resource management and e-learning.

According to ITU s flagship Measuring the Information Society Report, Bahrain entered the top 40 of the 2012 ICT Development Index (IDI) with mobile cellular penetration climbing from 128 per cent in 2011 to 156 per cent in 2012, while fixed broadband connectivity recorded the highest in the Arab region. Lebanon ranks 52 in IDI 2012 followed by Oman at 54. The United Arab Emirates indicated the highest increase in rank, shooting up 12 places to 33rd, registering remarkable progress in wireless-broadband subscriptions. The UAE also ranks among the most affordable countries for prepaid mobile-broadband services.