Task force/Arabic Task Force/Internet use

Question 1: Internet use in the future

Question/Problem

How will Internet use in the Middle East and North Africa change over the next 5 to 10 years?

• Will more non-English language speakers gain access to the Web?
• Will increases in Internet use come primarily from increases in mobile devices or computers?
• Will cell phone platforms support an Arabic interface to access the Web?

Internet use now

• How open or restricted is the media (print, broadcast, internet) in various countries?

In various countries, what's the availability of internet access?

• How much does broadband access (e.g. DSL or other options) cost, in relation to average household (or some measure of) income?
• How is the technical infrastructure and capacity? (e.g. in Africa, Seacom is being rolled out to link East Africa with Europe/Asia, and increase capacity in 2010)
• If one has broadband service, is it capped at a certain amount of data usage per month?
• Other questions...