Telecom sector plays a significant role in connecting people. Here in this article, we are going to portray a brief overview of the telecom sectors in Lebanon and Iraq.
Telecom Sector in Lebanon:
Communication in this day and age is the key to survival and advancement for every nation and every citizen. Proper communication channels via the Internet or telecommunication media in a country can contribute to its positive GDP growth as it would, in turn, contribute to proper workings of all other businesses or media or public and private sector services like banks and hospitals.
Overall Telecom Sector Scenario in Lebanon:
The country of Lebanon blames poor management from past governments for their poor Telecom infrastructure. The Telecom sector had been mostly government-owned since time indefinite and as a result, was limited. A form of censoring political gossip was implemented through this. Thus the telecom sector in Lebanon was dryland of business and convenience because of the nature of it being costly and unreliable. In Lebanon, the internet connections are extremely pricey as well as slow, which is way behind the average global bandwidths. People mostly have stable and proper internet at cafes or working spaces.
Why is the Telecom sector not growing?
With an incredibly high debt to GDP ratio of 152%, after Japan and Greece, Lebanon stands to be
the most debt-ridden country in the world. After the Lebanese war, most of the country’s capitals have been poured into reconstruction. Interest payments and an increase in wage of the public sector has made the citizens live as high to upper-middle-income groups, thereby increasing the standard of living for citizens but a steady downfall in the country’s economy.
Future Plans:
After the recent elections and the change of power, the Lebanese government plans on reshaping business and public sectors starting with the telecommunication sector. Fibre Optic Cables are supposed to be changing the already existing copper Ethernet and broadband lines for faster internet connectivity at relatively lower prices. This plan is supposed to be completed by 2022, thus bringing the country up to speed.
Telecom sector in Iraq:
Planned investment is the smartest investment as seen from the examples of Iraq and Lebanon. Unlike Lebanon, after the civil unrest in Iraq, as the communication services were hugely disrupted in major residential and business sectors, the telecommunication sector was immediately rebuilt with all the funding in hand. As a result, the country might have fallen short on resources, which led to the rise of a few militant groups within. It is internationally deemed unfit to be visited from other countries, and thus the business is hampered and now more than ever, the telecom industry is showering the country with business and wealth thus pushing the economy higher up in the scales.
Overall Growth in the Telecommunication Sector:
The media, technology and telecommunication sector has seen huge profits and thus have ventured deep into business with the agenda of global betterment and digitization in mind. The IT sector of Iraq is a hub to potential Foreign Institutional Investments as the government itself is urging foreign countries to invest in the ever-growing telecommunication industry of Iraq. The business scenario is modelled after a competitive market that pitches companies against one another to compete in terms of quality of service, number of sales and customer satisfaction.
Economic instability satiated by the Telecommunication sector:
About 15% of the GDP is directly contributed to by the Technology, media and Telecommunication sector. The country mostly makes its money through export and imports, which is equal to 73.9% of the GDP. The financial sector not being developed greatly; Iraq suffers from instability in the liquid cash infrastructure, but online banking has begun in stages, thus revolutionizing a framework for a smoothly functioning Financial System.
