Communications in Jordan
Encyclopedia
Jordan has a highly developed communications infrastructure
. Jordan's telecom infrastructure is growing at a very rapid pace and continually being updated and expanded. Jordan's telecom industry remains the most competitive in the Middle East. Communications in Jordan occur across many media, including telephone, radio, television, and internet.
In Mid 2004, XPress Telecom
was launched as the country's digital radio trunking operator.
Jordan will most likely surpass ICT giants like India
and Israel
if these reforms continue. The Jordanian Government has overwhelming supported these initiative and heavily invested in Jordan's ICT sector. The result is the most competitive ICT industry in the region. Jordan has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the region. All of these accomplishments have happened in the past few years.
By 2011, Jordan will have a 50% internet penetration rate, 35,000 employed in the ICT sector, and over $3 billion revenues.
The number of phone lines has decreased dramatically in the past three years to below 500K telephone lines, due to the introduction of WI-Max technology and 3G networks.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. Jordan's telecom infrastructure is growing at a very rapid pace and continually being updated and expanded. Jordan's telecom industry remains the most competitive in the Middle East. Communications in Jordan occur across many media, including telephone, radio, television, and internet.
Telephone
96% of households have at least one main line telephone. 103% of the population has a cell phone; 15% have more than one.- TelephoneTelephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s - main lines in use: 622,600
- Telephones - mobile cellular: 6,250,000
- Digital Radio TrunkingTrunked radio systemA trunked radio system is a complex type of computer-controlled radio system. Trunked systems use a few channels , and can have virtually unlimited talkgroups. The control channel computer sends packets of data to enable one talkgroup to talk together, regardless of frequency...
:100,000 (Unofficial, Nov'07)
In Mid 2004, XPress Telecom
XPress Telecom
XPress Telecom is a wireless telecommunication operator in Jordan. It holds a digital trunking radio system license from the country's telecommunication regulatory body, the TRC; the technology used is Motorola's proprietary iDEN technology operated on the SMR-800 frequency band.Its offering is...
was launched as the country's digital radio trunking operator.
- Telephone system: The service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in some rural areas and easier access to pay telephonePayphoneA payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....
s is needed by the urban public.
-
- domestic: MicrowaveMicrowaveMicrowaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
relay transmission and coaxialCoaxial cableCoaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellularCellular networkA cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...
systems; InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
service is available.
- domestic: Microwave
-
- international: satellite earth stationSatellite earth stationA ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
s - 3 IntelsatIntelsatIntelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime InmarsatInmarsatInmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and microwave radio relay link with EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the GlobeFiber-Optic Link Around the GlobeFiber-Optic Link Around the Globe is a 28,000-kilometer-long submarine communications cable containing optical fiber that connects the United Kingdom, Japan, and many places in between. The cable is operated by India's Flag Telecom, a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications. The system...
); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000.
- international: satellite earth station
FM Stations
- Play 99.6 - www.play.jo
- BBC ArabicBBC ArabicBBC Arabic may refer to the Arabic-language radio station run by the BBC World Service, as well as the BBC’s Arabic-language satellite TV channel, and the website that serves as an Arabic language news portal and provides online access to both the TV and radio broadcasts.The radio service is...
- Beat FM 102.5Beat FM 102.5Beat FM 102.5 is a radio station located in Amman, Jordan. The station is owned by Seagulls Broadcast and was established in 2005.-History:Beat FM 102.5 has sought to further expose its listeners to international music and events...
- www.mybeat.fm - Mood 92 FM - www.mood.fm
- Mazaj FM 95.3 FM- www.mazajfm.com
- Hala FM Jordan Armed Force channel, biggest radio network of Jordan, www.hala.jo Amman 102.1 FM, Karak 94.3 FM, Irbid 91.3 FM, Al Rweished 91.3 FM, Aqaba 91.1 FM, Azraq 105.4 FM, Petra 105.4 FM, Tafila 94.7 FM, Ajloun 94.3 FM & Salt 94.7 FM
- HD FM (Hala Dounia FM ) Jordan Armed Force channel, biggest radio network of Jordan, Amman 104.2 FM www.hala.jo
- Radio Jordan FM - broadcasting in English
- Radio Jordan French
- Amman FM
- Watan FM,
- Yarmouk FM - Yarmouk University in Irbid
- Sawt Ma'an - Al-Hussein University, Ma'an, southern Jordan
- Sunny 105.1 - www.sunny.jo
- Melody FM
- Virgin Radio JordanVirgin Radio JordanVirgin Radio 93.7 was launched at City Mall in Amman, Jordan on 24 November, 2009.This represents the first time in the history of the Middle East for a radio station studio to be housed in a publicly accessible location....
- Radio Rotana
- Radio Panorama
- Radio Monte CarloRadio Monte CarloRadio Monte Carlo is the name of six radio stations owned and managed by three different entities:*RMC Info is a French-speaking station, broadcasting in France and Monaco from Paris with some contributions from Monaco. Radio Monte-Carlo was one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the...
- RFi, - Radio SawaRadio SawaRadio Sawa is a 24-hour 7-day-a-week Arabic language radio station broadcasting in the Arab world. The station is a service of theMiddle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. and is publicly funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. Congress...
- VOA - Ammannet
Television
- Television broadcast stations: 20 (plus 96 repeaters)
- Televisions: 500,000
PCs
40% of Jordanian households have a PC. This is expected to double in the coming years when the government reduces the sales tax on PCs and internet service in an effort to make Jordan the high-tech capital of the Middle East. The Jordanian Government is also providing every university student with a laptop in partnership with the private sector. All Jordan's schools are connected with internet service and the Jordanian Government is heavily purchasing computers and smart technology to be equipped in Jordan's classrooms.Internet
Internet penetration is 36% (as of March 2009), a high figure for the region. Internet usage more than doubled from 2007 to 2009 with the rapid growth expected to continue. The government hopes to have internet penetration to reach 50% by 2011. Jordan has more internet start up companies than any other country in the Middle East. The Jordanian government has recently announced that the sales tax on computers and internet connection would be removed in order to further stimulate the ICT industry in Jordan.- Internet Service ProviderInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISPs): 3,160
- Internet users:: 1,000,966
- Country code top-level domain (ccTLD): .JO
Future
When King Abdullah II ascended to the throne in 1999, he stated his intentions to turn Jordan into the high-tech capital of the Middle East and to create a Silicon Valley-like venture in Jordan. King Abdullah equipped all Jordanian schools with computers and internet connection and instituted an ICT curriculum into Jordan's education system. ICT faculties were established in Jordanian universities and these campuses have been churning out 15,000 ICT graduates every year. Information access centers were established across the Kingdom to allow rural areas access to the Internet.Jordan will most likely surpass ICT giants like India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
if these reforms continue. The Jordanian Government has overwhelming supported these initiative and heavily invested in Jordan's ICT sector. The result is the most competitive ICT industry in the region. Jordan has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the region. All of these accomplishments have happened in the past few years.
By 2011, Jordan will have a 50% internet penetration rate, 35,000 employed in the ICT sector, and over $3 billion revenues.
The number of phone lines has decreased dramatically in the past three years to below 500K telephone lines, due to the introduction of WI-Max technology and 3G networks.
See also
- Jordan Radio and TelevisionJRTVJordan Radio and Television is the state broadcaster of Jordan. It was formed in 1985 from the merger of Jordan Radio and Jordan Television....
(JRTV) - ATV JordanATV JordanATV , Jordan's first independent TV Channel started its pilot broadcast and signal testing as of July 23, 2007...
- Orange JordanOrange JordanOrange Jordan is a Jordanian public mobile telephone network operator, and is the operator of the mobile communications license granted to Jordan Telecom....
- UmniahUmniahUmniah is a mobile cellular telecommunication network in Jordan. It is the fourth GSM cellular phone service set up in Jordan.Umniah was granted the third GSM license in August 2004 issued by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to operate, manage and own a public digital cellular mobile...
- XPressXPress TelecomXPress Telecom is a wireless telecommunication operator in Jordan. It holds a digital trunking radio system license from the country's telecommunication regulatory body, the TRC; the technology used is Motorola's proprietary iDEN technology operated on the SMR-800 frequency band.Its offering is...
- Zain Jordan