The Internet penetration rate in Kuwait is expected to grow from 7.59 percent in 2001, to 16.5 percent in 2006, according to a new report from Arab Advisors Group.
The research company also estimates that around nine percent of Internet users in the country will be using broadband by 2006, up from just one percent in 2001.
The Arab Advisors report indicates that the Kuwaiti Internet market is fairly liberalized compared to other markets in the region.
Currently, Kuwait has one national ISP operating in the country, but a second ISP is expected to launch its services this month.
There are also around 15 smaller sub ISPs that provide Internet services to individual subscribers and end users. These usually rely on the main ISP, Qualitynet, for their connectivity.
Unlike other markets in the Middle East region, Internet access rates are quite high. However, Arab Advisors predicts that once dial-up rates drop below the current charge or KD20 (USD65) per month for unlimited dial-up, the number of Internet subscribers will grow significantly.
Kuwaiti Internet penetration rate set to double
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