Over 99% of individuals in the UAE have mobile phones while only 46% of households have fixed line phones as many prefer the use of a mobile phone only, according to an official survey.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the telecom watchdog in the UAE, on Monday has released the results of an extensive survey examining the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services in the UAE in 2010.
The survey found that 63% of household have an Internet connection, of which 88% are broadband connections. The most popular Internet based activities undertaken in the UAE are emailing and visiting social networking sites.
The survey revealed that consumers are generally satisfied with their ICT services; 93% are satisfied with their overall fixed line services, 86% with their overall mobile services, and 89% with their overall Internet services.
The survey also examined the extent to which individuals in the UAE use social networking sites. It found that 55% of individuals have set up a profile on a social networking site. 97% of these profiles are on Face book. 69% of users typically visit the social networking sites they have profiles on at least every two days.
A total of 2,109 households and 2,133 individuals participated in the TRA’s study, which was undertaken during the course of 2010. The survey spanned multiple services including fixed telephony, mobile telephony and the Internet.
The survey examined many factors, which cover different areas in the ICT sector such as the extent to which households and individuals in the UAE have access to ICT services and the extent to which households and individuals in the UAE use, in terms of time and spend. Furthermore the survey measures the ICT services that users are connected to and the extent to which users are satisfied with their ICT services.
“The survey results provide a realistic picture of the development achieved in ICT sector during the recent years. The latest international methods and technologies had been used while conducting the survey to ensure the maximum degree of credibility,” said Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General.
Mahmood Rafique