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A Brief Overview |
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"Berytech" Technological Pole |
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National "E-Strategy" |
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A BRIEF OVERVIEW |
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Although statistics and studies are not easily accessible or
available to the public at large, United Nations sources and
specialized international institutions have published some
figures about Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
growth rates and general trends (per country or per region).
Results tend to reveal that despite the increasing number of
Internet users in Lebanon, ICT growth remains relatively slow
and limited mainly to urban agglomerations, mostly in and around
the capital, Beirut.
Although the indicators adopted in some analysis show high
percentages of fixed telephone lines, mobile phones, internet
access and PC users, the "Digital Divide" in Lebanon does exist,
particularly in rural areas, amongst poor communities, in
schools, homes and in many cases, at work, and even in major
cities of the country.
Digital or technological disparity has become a reliable
indicator to measure development, since the use of ICT has
proved to be an essential tool in enhancing developing countries
economies and their integration in world markets.
In Lebanon, "bridging the Digital Divide" starts with the
acknowledgement of the "right to access information" that
implies the access to equipment, to Internet and to specialized
training. The concept of "Technology for All" can only be
achieved through the mobilization of public and private
resources.
Consequently, clear ICT policies and strategies need to be
elaborated, established and implemented at the national level,
focusing on: raising awareness on the importance and impact of
ICT in improving economic performance and standards of living;
developing training programmes at all educational levels;
encouraging ICT related industries; new telecommunication
legislation and regulations; the establishment of an effective
tri-sector partnership between the business community, the
public sector and civil society.
The
Saradar IT Programmeฎ
illustrates a corporate social engagement and practice of
responsibility: it brings together key actors in civil society
and private enterprises, as well as public institutions
(municipalities) in a joint project fostering electronic
inclusion (or e-learning), in an attempt to support and sustain
the development of human resources in Lebanon.
Based on the direct contact with the beneficiaries in the field
and the statistics compiled during the pilot phase, the SITP
experience revealed that tremendous effort of awareness is
needed in the IT field in Lebanon, on different levels.
Education and training should be preceded with an extensive
awareness campaign that should target young and mature
generations alike and the public at large on issues such as:
1. the right of all to access technology, particularly
marginalised and disadvantaged communities
2. overcoming (in some cases) the fear of the machine (PC) and
the unknown (the Internet)
3. highlighting the PCs benefits and multiple usages that are
not limited to computer games only, as it is generally
widespread among children from underprivileged communities.
Present the computer as an educational and a professional tool
representing an opportunity for the equal access of girls/women
to knowledge and information
4. advocating for the ICT inclusion of persons with disabilities
who can constitute an important reservoir of ICT human resources
because of their efficiency, motivation and commitment to
performance and productivity
5. breaking the preconceived ideas that uneducated individuals
or persons with school difficulties could not be IT users
6. explaining that the Digital Divide in Lebanon is creating a
gap only between the Have and the Have not. In fact, the
digital divide exists also between men and women, urban and
rural areas, people with disabilities, etc.
7. developing electronic skills for enhancing employment
opportunities, career improvement, working conditions, leading
to poverty alleviation
8. strengthening the ICT field contributes to the creation of a
new vital and dynamic economic sector and fresh job openings
In Lebanon, the digital divide exists not only between the
haves and have-nots, and between rural and urban areas (as
already mentioned), but also between men and women, children and
adults as well as among marginalized social groups, such as
people with disabilities.
In order to reach them efficiently, the caravan is the ideal
learning and training solution.
The present government through its competent ministries have
been favourable and receptive to new measures and encouraging
initiatives to promote ICT in the country.
Some efforts have been deployed as to ICT laws and regulations:
- In 1999, Lebanon has approved a draft ICT policy and a
national committee in 2000
- A new (2001) custom law eliminated tariffs on ICT material
- The Central Bank was authorized to prepare and initiate draft
laws for digital signatures, e-banking, etc. (Law no. 133, 1999)
- Adoption and enforcement of intellectual property rights law
in 1999 (Lebanon is the 2nd Arab country after UAE)
- A media and ICT free zone to encourage technology parks with a
15-year tax exemption period and labour incentives
Professional associations and ICT private companies have been
particularly active in formulating some policies and are playing
an important role in proposing schemes and plans to address the
needs and develop opportunities.
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"BERYTECH" TECHNOLOGICAL POLE |
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ICT initiatives in education are spreading in Lebanon but remain
limited to some regions and social categories.
- The private sector has contributed to introduce PCs in private
schools, in technical institutes and in universities in general.
Still the gap is well pronounced among public schools and in
rural areas
- Private centres specialized in professional training and
certified by well-known foreign companies have proliferated
mainly in urban areas, more particularly in the capital
- Berytech, established in 1999, is a technology pole with
national and regional dimensions that seeks among others, to
function as a resource centre, a start-up incubator, a place for
high-tech companies, etc.
Over the past few years government institutions and
administrations, with the support of the United Nations and/or
the European Commission, undertook to develop and implement ICT
in the public service through the elaboration of policies and
the set up of government websites to disseminate information and
facilitate administrative procedures (such as the GovNet).
However, these services benefit only to computer literate
persons and to those who have access to a PC and to an Internet
connection.
A new ICT strategy including ICT standards and guidelines have
been developed and publicized by the Office of the Minister of
State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) in partnership with
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Similar efforts are
being initiated in different public administrations in parallel
and without coordination between these institutions.
The Ministry of Education established, in collaboration with the
California-based Schools Online, an online network entitled
schoolnet linking together several public schools. The
objective is to introduce the world of ICT to students in
various parts on Lebanon.
ICT industry in Lebanon has specialised in computer-related
services such as sale and distribution of electronic equipment,
solution providers, computer programming and IT training.
Software development is widespread. It has started initially
with locally developed programmes for in-house use by over a
hundred private enterprises. Today, the software industry is
expanding and proposing certified packages adapted to various
markets.
Most of civil society organizations have incorporated computer
and Internet training to their primary human rights and
social/rural development programmes, as a major component for
information dissemination and capacity-building activities.
Other NGOs, specialized in business management, offer computer
learning as a key element in improving SMEs performance. Local
associations have realised relatively soon the importance of
introducing electronic equipment and skills in their own work
and to disadvantaged populations at the same time. These
initiatives remain difficult to achieve, mainly in the latter
case, since ICT products, services and training come at very
high costs.
Despite such efforts, there is an urgent need to devote more
attention and mobilize the necessary resources to the
formulation and implementation of coherent policies and
strategies leading to concrete and effective plans of action
involving all parties and aimed at disseminating ICT knowledge
and competence, at sustaining and developing existing
capabilities as well. The primary goal is to create a
knowledge-based society in order to achieve socio-economic
development and improve chances to compete in and integrate the
knowledge-based global economy.
The need to establish, develop and adopt ICT national indicators
to survey, measure, monitor and evaluate the current ICT status
and projections, adjust future strategies and plans of action. A
national committee should be created to collect, analyse and
publish ICT statistics and indices. It would be recommendable
that this body be composed from the public sector, the business
community and civil society organizations.
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NATIONAL "E-STRATEGY" |
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ITU Statistics in brief (Source:
www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/Internet01.pdf)
In its 2002 world statistics on Information Technology, the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) published figures
and percentages per continent and per country.
Lebanon, featured as no. 114 on this list, displays the
following information (for 2001):
1. Total Internet Hosts: 7,101
2. Internet Hosts per 10,000 inhabitants: 19.97
3. Internet Users (k): 300.0 [00]
4. Internet Users per 10,000 inhabitants: 858.00
5. Total estimated PCs (k): 200
6. Estimated PCs per 100 inhabitants: 5.62
A quick comparison with some Asian countries as established by
ITU:
| Country |
Internet
hosts total |
Internet
hosts per 10,000 inhabitants |
Internet
users (k) |
Internet
users per 10,000 inhabitants |
Estimated
PCs total (k) |
Estimated
PCs per 100 inhabitants |
| India |
82,979 |
0.81 |
7,000 |
68.16 |
6,000 |
0.58 |
| Jordan |
2,185 |
4.22 |
212 |
409.11 |
170 |
3.28 |
| Kuwait |
3,437 |
17.44 |
200 |
1,014.71 |
260 |
13.19 |
| Malaysia |
74,007 |
31.10 |
6,500 |
2,731.09 |
3,000 |
12.61 |
| Qatar |
127 |
2.08 |
40 |
655.74 |
100 |
16.39 |
| K.S.A. |
11,422 |
5.12 |
300 |
134.40 |
1,400 |
6.27 |
| U.A.E. |
76,546 |
246.92 |
976 |
3,148.39 |
420 |
13.55 |
UNDP figures
According to the United Nations National Human Development
Report (Source: Executive Magazine, April 2000, Beirut), Lebanon
2001 2002 (relying on several sources):
1. Mobile phone use is widespread compared to some Arab
countries (1999): 16.0 per 100 persons
2. Number of Internet Service Providers (Source: Raef el Ghoury,
ISP: Characteristics of Internet Services and the costs of
Services, May 2000), Lebanon ranks 3rd (2000), between Saudi
Arabia and Jordan:
- Number:16
- ISP per million of population: 4.6
- Number of Subscribers per ISP: 4,063
3. Internet Host Count (Source: RIPE, Region Host Count, 19
January 2001 ), Lebanon ranks 75th, in 2001:
- Individual hosts: 5,147
- Level 2 domains: 7
- Level 3 domains: 280
4. Internet use (Source: Bin Daher Computer Group), Lebanon
ranks 4th (1998 & 2000), between Saudi Arabia and Tunisia:
- Number of subscribers in December 1998: 30,700
- Number of subscribers in March 2000: 65,000
- Number of subscribers in March 2000 per 1,000 population: 19.1
- Number of users in March 2000: 227,000
- Number of users per account: 3.5
5. Monthly cost of Internet subscription:
- in 1998, US$ 29-55
- in 1999, US$ 11-25
- in 2000, US$ 10-20
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CURRENT "ICT" STATUS