united arab emirates ict survey

U A E I C T S U R V E YAccess and Use of Information and Communications Technology in the UAE

Bringing the UAE Telecom Sector Forward

www.tra.gov.ae

P.O.Box: 26662 Abu Dhabi, UAE - T. +971 2 626 9999 - F. +971 2 611 8229www.tra.gov.ae

Bringing the UAE Telecom Sector Forward

Copyright © TRA 2009. All rights reserved

ContentsGeneral Overview and Key Findings .................................................................................. 8

Chapter 1:Indicators Report for Households .................................................................................... 12

Chapter 2:Indicators Report for the Private Sector ........................................................................... 18

Chapter 3:Indicators Report for Educational Establishments ............................................................ 26

Chapter 4:Indicators Report for Higher Educational Establishments ................................................ 36

Chapter 5:Indicators Report for Public Sector Establishments .......................................................... 46

Chapter 6:Indicators Report for the ICT Business Sector .................................................................. 52

Chapter 7:Indicators Report for PIAC Establishments ....................................................................... 60

Chapter 8:International Benchmarks ................................................................................................ 62

Chapter 9:Methodology .................................................................................................................... 72

SUMMARY OF 2008 UAE ICT SURVEY RESULTS6

CONTENTSGENERAL OVERVIEW AND KEY FINDINGS .........................................................................8Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................8Key Findings ..........................................................................................................................................................................8ICT in Households .................................................................................................................................................................8ICT in the Private Sector ........................................................................................................................................................8ICT in Educational Establishments .........................................................................................................................................8ICT in Higher Educational Establishments ..............................................................................................................................8ICT in the Government Sector ...............................................................................................................................................8ICT in the ICT Business Sector ...............................................................................................................................................8ICT in Public Internet Access Centers (PIACs) ........................................................................................................................8

CHAPTER 1: INDICATORS REPORT FOR HOUSEHOLDS .................................................12

Proportion of households with a mobile cellular telephone...................................................................................................12Proportion of indivduals with use of a mobile phone ............................................................................................................12Proportion of households with a fixed line telephone ..........................................................................................................12Proportion of households with a computer ..........................................................................................................................12Proportion of individuals aged between 15 and 74 who used a computer at home in the last 12 months ............................12Proportion of individuals aged between 15 and 74 who used the Internet in the last 12 months ..........................................12Locations where individuals users accessed the Internet in the last 12 months (multiple responses possible) .......................13Internet activities undertaken by individuals in the last 12 months (multiple responses possible) .........................................13Frequency of individual Internet use in the last 12 months (from any location) ....................................................................14Proportion of households that are satisfied with telecommunication service operators’ customer service levels ...................14Proportion of households that are satisfied with the quality of telecommunication and internet services in the UAE ............14Proportion of households that have noticed any improvements in the telecommunication service operators’ prices over the past year or two ...................................................................................................................................................................15Proportion of households that are satisfied with the telecommunication service operators’ current prices ............................15Proportion of households that have noticed more choices, offers or options in the telecommunication service operators’ services in the past year or two .........................................................................................................................................................15Proportion of households that are satisfied with the telecommunication service operators’ current service offerings ............16Proportion of households with electricity .............................................................................................................................16Proportion of households with a radio .................................................................................................................................16Proportion of households with a television ..........................................................................................................................16

CHAPTER 2: INDICATORS REPORT FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR .......................................18Proportion of Businesses with computers .............................................................................................................................18Proportion of businesses with a website ...............................................................................................................................18Proportion of businesses with an intranet, local area network (LAN), or extranet (multiple responses possible) ....................19Proportion of businesses receiving orders over the Internet ..................................................................................................20Proportion of businesses placing orders over the Internet .....................................................................................................21Proportion of businesses with Internet access ......................................................................................................................22Business use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible) ........................................................................23Proportion of Employees using computers ...........................................................................................................................24

CHAPTER 3: INDICATORS REPORT FOR EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS ...................26Schools with computer laboratories .....................................................................................................................................26Percentage of schools with basic telecommunication infrastructure or telephone access......................................................26Percentage of schools with an Internet connection ..............................................................................................................26Teachers and ICT training and use .......................................................................................................................................27Percentage of teachers with mobile phone, use of Internet in school, E-mail, E-mail for communicating with students ........27Ratio of Students to computers in laboratories .....................................................................................................................28Percentage of students who use the Internet at school ..........................................................................................................29Percentage of students using Internet regardless of location .................................................................................................29Student use of the Internet by type of activity .......................................................................................................................29Percentage of students with mobile phones, computers at home, E-mail ..............................................................................30Percentage of students who can use computer, digital camera, design a webpage ...............................................................31Location of computer learning (multiple responses possible) ...............................................................................................32Looking at the same separated by public and private shows ................................................................................................33Percentage of schools with electricity ..................................................................................................................................33

Percentage of schools with a radio set used for educational purposes ..................................................................................33

CHAPTER 4: INDICATOR REPORT FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS ......36Percentage of schools with computer laboratories ...............................................................................................................36Percentage of schools with basic telecommunication infrastructure or telephone access......................................................36Teachers and ICT training and use .......................................................................................................................................37Percentage of teachers with mobile phones, use of Internet in school, E-mail, E-mail for communicating with students .......37Ratio of Students to computers in laboratories .....................................................................................................................39Percentage of students who use the Internet at school ..........................................................................................................39Percentage of students using Internet at school by frequency ...............................................................................................39Student use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible) .........................................................................39Percentage of students with mobile phones, computers at home, E-mail ..............................................................................40Percentage of students who can use computer, digital camera, design a webpage ...............................................................41Percentage distribution of computer-literate students by sources of learning school, home, elsewhere (multiple responses possible) ..............................................................................................................................................................................42Percentage of schools with electricity ..................................................................................................................................43Percentage of schools with a radio set used for educational purposes ..................................................................................43Percentage of schools with a television set used for educational purposes ...........................................................................43

CHAPTER 5: INDICATOR REPORT FOR PUBLIC SECTOR ESTABLISHMENTS ...................46Percentage of staff working in the ICT sector .......................................................................................................................46Percentage of staff with ICT skills .........................................................................................................................................46Staff to somputer ratio ..........................................................................................................................................................46Percentage of computers connected to the Internet ..............................................................................................................46Percentage ministries/organizations with an Internet Connection .........................................................................................46Looking at the same separated by federal and non federal shows .........................................................................................46Percentage of ministries/organizations with an Intranet ........................................................................................................47Percentage of ministries/organizations using E-mail for official internal and external communications .................................47Percentage of ministries/organizations linked to other ministries/organizations ....................................................................47Percentage of ministries/organizations with a website ..........................................................................................................47Percentage of ministries/organizations collecting Statistics on customer satisfaction of their online services ........................48

CHAPTER 6: INDICATOR REPORT FOR THE ICT BUSINESS SECTOR ...............................52Proportion of ICT Businesses with computers ......................................................................................................................52Proportion of ICT businesses with a website ........................................................................................................................52Proportion of ICT businesses with an intranet, local area network (LAN), or extranet (multiple responses possible)..............53Proportion of ICT businesses receiving orders over the Internet............................................................................................54Proportion of ICT businesses placing orders over the Internet ..............................................................................................55Proportion of ICT businesses with Internet access ................................................................................................................56ICT Business use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible) .................................................................57Proportion of ICT business employees using the Internet at work .........................................................................................58

CHAPTER 7: INDICATOR REPORT FOR PIAC ESTABLISHMENTS .....................................60Composition of PIACs ..........................................................................................................................................................60Number of visiting customers per month .............................................................................................................................60Average hours spent by customer in a PIAC per visit ............................................................................................................60

CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS ..................................................................62Benchmarking .....................................................................................................................................................................62Results .................................................................................................................................................................................62Other international benchmark study findings .....................................................................................................................67

CHAPTER 9: METHODOLOGY ...........................................................................................72Approach ............................................................................................................................................................................72Indicators ............................................................................................................................................................................72Survey Instrument ................................................................................................................................................................72Sampling and Survey Methodology .....................................................................................................................................72Field Research .....................................................................................................................................................................72


General Overview & Key FindingsOverview

The Telecommunications Regulatory Autheirty (TRA) has undertaken the most intensive survey of ICT in the history of the UAE. The survey focuses primarily on ICT access (i.e. internet connections) and ICT use (i.e. utilization of internet). The survey was conducted over 6 months and covered 7 sectors: Households, Private Sector, Education Establishments, Higher Education Establishments, Government, ICT Business Sector, and Public Internet Access Center (PIAC) Establishments (e.g., internet cafes and public libraries).

The survey targeted both household level and organizational level. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with call backs to ensure the authenticity of the responses. A total of 1,350 households, 1,510 private sector establishments, 194 educational establishments, 44 higher educational establishments, 154 public sector Establishments, 403 ICT sector establishments, and 144 Public Internet Access Centers participated in this study.

One of the benefits of this survey is that it will allow TRA to measure the status of the UAE in terms of the 48 ICT “core in-dicators” that have been developed and agreed to by international organizations including the ITU, the OECD, UNCTAD, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the World Bank, and a range of UN Regional Commissions. Of the 48 core indicators, 33 rely on survey data and this survey has collected information on all 33 of these indicators. TRA has been collecting information for the remaining core indicators in a separate exercise, and the only missing core indicators are macroeconomic items not currently available from UAE sources.

To ensure consistency with the way the ITU defines the various indicators, the following parameters were applied throughout this study:

• The household surveys were limited to people aged between 15 and 74 years; and• The private sector and ICT business surveys were limited to those with 10 or more employees.

Key findings from the survey are as follows.

ICT in Households

Internet connection penetration in households has reached 66% overall, while penetration rates among nationals is 83%. 87% of household internet connections are broadband, with this rate increasing to 95% among national households. 74% of households have at least one computer, and 72% of the UAE population aged between 15 and 74 used the Internet in the last 12 months, although not necessarily from the home.

65% of respondents have noticed reductions in prices of telecommunication services in the past year or two, and 71% have noticed the availability of more choices, offers or options in the telecommunication service operators’ services.

ICT in the Private Sector

The private sector in the UAE makes intensive use of ICT in thier business operetions with 97% of private sector establishments haveing computer, 81% of employees use a computer at work. 82% of establishments have a website. 26% of businesses have made online sales, while 29% have made online purchases.

ICT in Educational Establishments

The vast majority of school students, 84%, use the Internet at their schools. On average, 99% of educational establishments have a computer laboratory and each school has, on average, 38 laboratory computers.

93% of schools have an internet connection, with DSL being the most popular.

95% of teacher have undertaken some form of professional ICT qualification.

ICT in Higher Educational Establishments

Every higher educational establishment surveyed has some form of Internet connection, with DSL being the most popular type of connection. 98% have a computer laboratory. The average number of computers in laboratories in each establishment is 280. 97% of higher education students use the Internet at the establishment, and 98% of the teachers have been trained to use ICT for instructional purposes.

ICT in the Government Sector

The Government has devoted considerable effort into enhancing levels of “e-government” in the UAE, and this appears to be reflected in the results of the survey.

97% of government sector establishments have internet access and 89% have a website. 86% offer some form of online serv-ices to the public.

41% of government employees work in ICT related jobs, of which 67% are occupied by UAE nationals. Overall, 63% of employees have ICT skills.

ICT in the ICT Business Sector

The survey also examined ICT in the ICT-specific business sector. As would be expected, levels of ICT access and use in this sector are higher than that of the overall private sector.

95% of the employees in ICT business establishments use a computer at work versus 81% in the overall private sector.

92% of ICT businesses have a website, a significantly higher figure than the overall private sector figure of 82%.

While in the overall private sector, dialup connections comprise 19% of total internet connections, in the ICT business sector they make up only 9% of total connections.

ICT in Public Internet Access Centers (PIACs)

PIACs are proving to be a popular way of access the Internet. On average, PIACs have 57 customers per day with each visit lasting around 1.7 hours.

Chapter 1

Household Sector Report1,350 households were surveyed. For each household the head of household was interviewed as well as one randomly chosen household individual between the ages of 15 and 74. There were 690,964 households in the UAE in 2008 (latest available data).


CHAPTER 1:INDICATOR REPORT FOR HOUSEHOLDS Proportion of households with a mobile cellular telephone

99% of the households in the UAE have at least one mobile phone in the household. The average UAE household has 4.3 mobiles. Based on TRA statistics, mobile penetration reached 200% by October 2009, highest rate worldwide, This penetra-tion is measured by dividing active mobile subscriptions by the UAE total population.

Proportion of indivduals with use of a mobile phone

96% percent of respondents surveyed had access to a mobile phone which may be owned by the respondent or another party

Proportion of households with a fixed line telephone

57% of the households in the UAE have a fixed line telephone connection.

Proportion of households with a computer

From the survey, 74% of the households have at least one computer in the household. The desktop was the most popular type of computer (60%) while the laptops were the next most popular (52%). The average UAE household has 1.7 computers.

For the purposes of this survey, a computer includes: a desktop, portable or handheld computer (e.g. a personal digital assistant). It does not include equipment with some embedded computing abilities such as mobile phones or TV sets.

Proportion of individuals aged between 15 and 74 who used a computer at home in the last 12 months

74% of survey respondents aged between 15 and 74 have used a computer at their home in the last 12 months.

Proportion of households with Internet access at home

66% of households have Internet access at home (i.e. the household has an internet connection). For households with Internet connections 87% have broadband, while 13% have dial-up.

Figure 1: Type of Internet Connection

Among UAE nationals, households 83% have Internet connections and of those with Internet 95% use broadband.

Locations where individuals users accessed the Internet in the last 12 months (multiple responses possible)

Of the individuals that use the Internet, 87% accessed it from home while 41% of respondents accessed it from work.

Figure 2: Locations

Internet activities undertaken by individuals in the last 12 months (multiple responses possible)

Individuals were asked to select from a list of Internet activities: use of the Internet as a sourse of information, communicating, online shopping and services, Internet banking, education or learning activities, dealing with government organizations and leisure activities. Note that these activities are restricted to private purposes and therefore exclude activities such as purchasing over the Internet undertaken as part of a person’s job or undertaking online courses as part of a job. Respondents could respond in respect of more than one activity and activities are not mutually exclusive.

Email (87%), information search (78%), and entertainment (67%) are among the most popular uses of the Internet.

Figure 3: Internet Activities by Respondent

Proportion of individuals aged between 15 and 74 who used the Internet in the last 12 months

72% of individuals have accessed the Internet in the last 12 months, although not necessarily from the home.


Frequency of individual Internet use in the last 12 months (from any location)

Of individuals who use the Internet, 78% use it on a daily basis and 18% use the Internet at least once a week but not daily.

Figure 4: Frequency of Internet Use

Proportion of households that are satisfied with telecommunication service operators’ customer service levels

92% of households have indicated that they are satisfied with customer service levels provided by the telecommunication service operators.

Figure 5: Proportion of Satisfied Households

Proportion of households that are satisfied with the quality of telecommunication and internet services in the UAE 89% of households indicated that they are satisfied with the quality of telecommunication services.


Proportion of households that have noticed any improvements in the telecommunication service operators’ prices over the past year or two

65% of households have noticed improvements in prices of telecommunication services in the past year or two.

Figure 7: Proportion of Households

Proportion of households that are satisfied with the telecommunication service operators’ current prices

91% of households are satisfied with the current level of prices offered by telecommunication service providers.


Proportion of households that have noticed more choices, offers or options in the telecom-munication service operators’ services in the past year or two

71% of households have noticed increases in the availability of more services and offers over the past year or two.

Figure 9: Proportion of Households


Proportion of households that are satisfied with the telecommunication service operators’ current service offerings

96% of households are satisfied with the telecommunication service operators’ current service offerings.


Proportion of households with electricity

Based on respondent answers, it was found that 99.6% of the households had electricity. 98.6% of the households in rural areas had electricity while 99.9% of the houses in urban areas had electricity.

Proportion of households with a radio

From the survey, 43% of the households in the UAE have at least one radio unit that belongs to the household.

A radio is a device capable of receiving broadcast radio signals using popular frequencies such as FM, AM, LW and SW. Radios also include: those combined with other equipment such as cassette players/recorders, portable radios such as transistor radios, and radios in motor vehicles.

Proportion of households with a television

94% of households in the UAE have at least one television unit that belongs to the household. The average UAE household has 1.7 television sets .

Chapter 2Indicators Report for the Private Sector

1,510 Private Sector establishments were surveyed. These establishment include as well ICT related businesses. The sample was taken from businesses having 10 or more employees. For each business, the responsible administrator was interviewed as well as four randomly chosen employees.


CHAPTER 2:INDICATORS REPORT FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR Private sector information is reported for the sector as a whole and also disaggregated by company size. The size classification used is number of employees. Small business is defined as those with 10 to 49 employees (36% of all businesses), medium business 50 to 249 employees (28% of all businesses), large business 250 or more employees (36% of all businesses). These classifications were chosen to be consistent with the standards established by the international organizations responsible for defining ICT Indicators. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees were not surveyed in accordance with those classification standards.

Proportion of businesses with computers

97% of the private establishments have at least one computer.

For large businesses 100% had at least one computer, for medium businesses 100% and for small business 92%.

For the purposes of this survey, a computer does not include equipment with some embedded computing abilities: such as mobile phones or TV sets, nor does it include computer-controlled machinery or electronic input/output systems.

Proportion of businesses with a website

83% of private sector businesses have their own website, with 43% of businesses using the “.ae” domain.

Figure 11: Type of Website

Looking at the same separated by small, media and large business shows:


Proportion of business with an intraent , local area network ( LAN) , or extranet (multiple responses possible)

These indicators show the use of networking technology in private establishments.

Figure 14: Use of Network Technology


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Looking at the same separated by small, medium and large business shows:


Proportion of businesses receiving orders over the Internet

26% of businesses have made online sales. Of these organizations receiving orders over the Internet, 81% received their sales orders using their own websites, 60% through use of specialized Internet market places, and 50% through Electronic Data Interchanges (EDIs).

Figure15: Methods of Receiving Orders via Internet (multiple responses possible)

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Figure 16: Methods of Receiving Orders via Internet (multiple responses possible)

Proportion of businesses placing orders over the Internet

29% of private establishments have made online purchases. Of those ,79% conducted the transaction via websites and 55% via specialized Internet market places.

Figure 17: Methods of Making Purchases over the Internet

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48%

33%

19%


Figure 18: Methods of Making Purchases over the Internet

Proportion of businesses with Internet access

92% of the businesses surveyed have some form of Internet connection.

Of the different types of Internet connection, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) was the most popular (48%).


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44%48%

50%

29%37%

29%

21%

14%

21%



Business use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible)

Email and search activities ranked at the top of the list of the activities that were undertaken by private establishments on the Internet. It was also observed that the private sector has an interest in communicating and conducting their transactions with governmental organization in the UAE via the Internet.

Figure 21: Type of Internet Activities




Proportion of Employees using Computers

81% of the employees in the private sector used a computer at work at least once a day in the last 12 months. Among large busi-nesses the percentage is 88, for medium 86 and for small 69.

Chapter 3Indicators Report for Educational Establishments

194 UAE educational establishments were surveyed. These establishments are primary and secondary schools, both public and private. The administrator in charge was interviewed as well as two randomly chosen teachers. In addition, four students, randomly chosen from all ages, were interviewed.


CHAPTER 3:INDICATORS REPORT FOR EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

Results for educational establishments are reported for primary and secondary schools. In addition, the results are separated to show public and private school results.

Schools with computer laboratories

98% of the educational establishments have a computer laboratory. The average number of laboratory computers in each educational establishment is 38.

For public schools, 100% have computer labs with an average of 40 computer lab computers at the school. For private schools, 96% have computer labs with an average of 36 computer lab computers at the school.

Percentage of schools with basic telecommunication infrastructure or telephone access

All schools have some form of telecommunication infrastructure.

Percentage of schools with an Internet connection

93% of schools have some form of Internet connection with DSL connection being the most popular type of connection.

99% of public schools and 82% of private schools have an Internet connection.


i

Looking at the same separated by public and private shows:


Teachers and ICT training and use

95% of the teachers had taken some form of professional ICT qualification either through training programs as part of the job, previous employment training programs, or other external courses. For the purposes of this survey, ICT qualification is defined as any professional certification from a recognized certification body, e.g. private institution, higher education institu-tion, or professional certification body. For public schools the percentage was 97%, and 91% for private schools.

90% of teachers had been trained to use ICT for instructional purposes. For public schools the percentage was 95%, for private schools 81%.

89% of teachers use ICT tools for instructional purposes. For public schools the percentage was 96%, for private schools 78%.92% of the teachers use computers for administrative purposes within educational establishments. For public schools the percentage was 93%, for private schools 90%.

Percentage of teachers with mobile phone, use Internet in school, have E-mail, have E-mail address for communicating with students

98% of teachers have a mobile phone and 71% use the Internet in school. 85% of teachers have a private email address while 25% have a school email address for communicating with students.

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MP

Figure 25: Teacher Usage of ICT


Figure 26: Teacher Usage of ICT

Students to computers in laboratory ratio

There are 17 students for every computer at school computer labs. For public schools, there are 12 students for every computer, and for private schools there are 28 students for every computer.

HaveMobile Phone

Have E-mail

Use Email to communicate with students

Use Internet

in School


Percentage of students who use the Internet at school

83% of students use the Internet at school. For public schools the percentage was 87%, for private schools 80%.

Percentage of students using Internet at school by frequency

43% of students use the Internet at least once a day. 32% use it at least once a week, 7% use it at least once a month, and 1% use it less than once a month. It was observed that 17% do not use the Internet in school.

Figure 27: Frequency of Internet Usage at School


Figure 28: Frequency of Internet Usage at School

Percentage of students using Internet regardless of location

98% of students use the internet either at home, school or other locations. The most popular location is home with 86%. School is second most popular with 83%.

For public school students internet usage (from any location) was 97% for private school students 99%.

Student use of the Internet by type of activity

Entertainment (86%) and information search (79%) rank among the most popular purposes of using the Internet. 59% of students use the Internet for receiving and sending emails.



Figure 29: Student Use of Internet by Activity

Top 3 Activities Public Private1st 88% Entertainment 85% Information search

2nd 72% Information search 84% Entertainment

3rd 52% Sending and receiving emails 66% Sending and receiving emails

Percentage of students with mobile phones, computer at home, E-mail

98% of the students have a computer at home. 67% have at least 1 mobile phone, and 59% have an E-mail address.

Figure 30: Technology Percentage


Mobilephone

Computerat home

Designwebpage


Percentage of students who can use computer, digital camera, design a webpage

97% of students can use a computer, 87% of students can use a mobile phone, and 57% can use a digital camera. 10 % of students are able to design a webpage.

Figure 32: Student Capability of Use




Location of computer learning (multiple responses possible)

87% of students learned how to use the computer in school, 41% learned it at home, and 9% learned it elsewhere.

Figure 34: Location of Computer Learning

use



Percentage of schools with electricity

Based on information provided by the Ministry of Education, 100% of the schools in the UAE were connected with electricity in 2008.

Percentage of schools with a radio set used for educational purposes

56% of the schools have at least one radio set that is used for educational purposes. For public schools the Percentage was 62%, for private schools 47%.

Percentage of schools with a television set used for educational purposes

91% of the schools have at least one television set that is used for educational purposes. For public schools the Percentage was 93%, for private schools 86%.

use

Chapter 4Indicators Report for Higher Educational Establishments 44 Higher Educational establishments were surveyed. The administrator in charge was interviewed as well as two randomly chosen teachers. In addition, four students, randomly chosen from all ages, were interviewed.


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CHAPTER 4:INDICATORS REPORT FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTSResults for higher education establishments are reported overall and separately for public and private institutions.

Percentage of schools with computer laboratories

100% of higher educational establishments have a computer laboratory, and the average number of laboratory computers in each establishment is 280.

For public institutions, 100% have computer labs, with an average of 1,398 lab computer at the institution. For private institu-tions, 100% have computer labs, with an average of 161 computers at the school.

Percentage of schools with basic telecommunication infrastructure or telephone access

Based on the survey, all higher educational institutions have some form of telecommunication infrastructure.

Percentage of schools with an Internet connection

100% of higher educational institutions have some form of Internet connection, with DSL connection being the most popular

type of connection




Teachers and ICT training and use

98% of teachers in higher educational establishments had been trained to use ICT for instructional purposes. For public institutions the percentage was 100%, for private 98 %.

98 % of teachers in higher educational establishments use ICT tools for instructional purposes. For public institutions the percentage was 100%, for private 98%.

99% of teachers in higher educational establishments use computers for administrative purposes. For public institutions the percentage was 100%, for private 99%.

Percentage of teachers with mobile phone, use of Internet in school, have E-mail, have E-mail address for communicating with students

92% of teachers in higher educational establishments have a mobile phone and 94% use the Internet at work. 90% have a private email address and 72% of the teachers have a work email address for communicating with students.


Figure 38: Teacher’s Usage of ICT


Figure 39: Teachers’ Usage of ICT



Ratio of Students to computers in laboratory

There are 3 students to every computer in a computer laboratory in a higher educational establishment. For public institutions the ratio was 4 students for every 3 computers, while in the private sector the ratio was 5 to 1.

Percentage of students who use the Internet at school

86% of students use the Internet at their higher educational institutions. For public institutions the Percentage was 75%, for private 100%.

Percentage of students using Internet at school by frequency

88% of students who use the Internet in higher educational establishments use the Internet at least once a day. 12% use it once a week, and less than 1% use it once it month.

For public institutions the Percentage was 92% for at least once a day, for private 83%. For public institutions the Percentage was 8% for once a week, for private 16%. For public institutions the Percentage was 0% for once a month, for private 1%.

Percentage of students using Internet regardless of location (multiple responses possible)

100% of the students surveyed reported that they use the Internet either at home, school or other locations. The most popular location is home with 98%. School is second most popular with 86%.


Figure 40: Student Usage of Internet

Public Private

Students who use the Internet at home

100% 95%

Students who use the Internet at school

75% 100%

Student use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible)

94% of students in higher educational establishments use the Internet to receive and send emails. Entertainment (86%) followed by Information Search (84%) rank among the other most popular purposes of using the Internet.


Figure 41: Student Use of Internet by Type of Activity

Top 3 Activities Public Private

1st 100% Entertainment 87% Information Search

2nd 100% Sending and Receiving Emails

86% Sending and Receiving Emails

3rd 81% Information Search 69% Enterainment

Top 3 Activities


- -

Percentage of students with mobile phones, computer at home, E-mail

100% of the students in higher educational establishments have at least 1 mobile phone. 100% have a computer at home, and 94% have an e-mail address.




-

Percentage of students who can use computer, digital camera, design a webpage

100% of students can use a mobile phone and a computer. 74% can use a digital camera, and 36% are able to design a

webpage.




Digitalcamera


Percentage distribution of computer-literate students by sources of learning school, home, elsewhere (multiple responses possible)

80% of the students learned how to use the computer in school, and 68% learned it themselves. 14% learned to use the computer through specialized courses.

Figure 46: Location of Computer Literacy



Percentage of students enrolled by gender at the higher education level in an ICT-related field

41% of students at the higher education level are enrolled in an ICT related field (e.g. Electronics/Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, etc.). Of these, 66% are male and 34% female. Computer and information systems are the most popular field of study making up about 45% of the total students in ICT-related fields.

For public institutions 35% of students are enrolled in ICT related fields, with 70% of them being male and 30% female. For private institutions 49% of students are enrolled in ICT related fields, with 61% of them being male and 39% female.

Percentage of schools with electricity

Based on information provided by the Ministry of Higher Education, 100% of the higher institutions in the UAE were connected with electricity in 2008.

Percentage of schools with a radio set used for educational purposes

12% of schools in higher educational establishments have at least 1 radio set that is used for educational purposes. For public institutions the percentage was 0%, for private 13%.

Percentage of schools with a television set used for educational purposes

83% of schools have at least one television set that is used for educational purposes. For public institutions the percentage was 75%, for private 84%.


Chapter 5Indicators Report for Public Sector Establishment

154 Public Sector establishments were surveyed. For each establishment, the responsible administrator was interviewed as well as six randomly chosen employees.


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CHAPTER 5: INDICATOR REPORT FOR PUBLIC SECTOR ESTABLISHMENTSPublic sector information is reported for the sector as a whole and also disaggregated to show results by federal and non fed-eral establishments.

Percentage of staff working in ICT jobs

41% of government employees work in ICT related jobs, of which 65% are nationals. More males than females have ICT related jobs.

For federal establishments, 22% work in ICT related jobs, of which 65% are nationals. For non federal establishments, 44% work in ICT related jobs, of which 59% are nationals.

Percentage of staff with ICT skills

The survey indicates that around 63% of government employees have ICT skills.

For federal establishments 59% of employees have ICT skills. For non federal establishments 64% of employees have ICT skills.

Staff to computer ratio

In the public sector, for every 3 employees, there are 2 computers available for use.

In the federal sector, for every 1 employee, there is 1 computer available for use. In the non federal sector, for every 3 employees, there are 2 computers available for use.

Percentage of computers connected to the Internet

Results of the survey show that 41% of the computers in public establishments are connected to the Internet.

In the federal sector 66% of the computers are connected to the Internet. In the non federal sector 34% of the computers are connected to the Internet.

Percentage ministries/organizations with an Internet connection

97% of the sampled public sector establishments reported having Internet access.

In the federal sector 98% reported having Internet access. In the non federal sector 97% reported having Internet access.


Non-FederalFederal

Looking at the same separated by federal and non federal shows:


Percentage of ministries/organizations with an Intranet

52% of public sector establishments have intranets within their organization and 40% have extranets.

In the federal sector 63% intranets within their organization and 61% have extranets. In the non federal sector 48% intranets within their organization and 32% have extranets.

Percentage of ministries/organizations using E-mail for official internal and external com-munications

79% of public sector establishments use email for official internal communication while 78% also use email for official external communication.

In the federal sector 84% use email for official internal communication while 81% also use email for official external communication. In the non federal sector 78% use email for official internal communication while 77% also use email for official external communication.

Percentage of ministries/organizations linked to other ministries/organizations

50% of public sector establishments have links to other ministries/organizations through the Internet web environment.

In the federal sector 63% have links to other Ministries/organizations through the Internet web environment. In the non federal sector 45% have links to other ministries/organizations through the Internet web environment.

Percentage of ministries/organizations providing online services at different levels

86% of public sector establishments offer online services: 46% offer basic informational online services; 16% allow for downloading of forms; and 14% offer online transactions.

In the federal sector 95% offer online services: 42% offer basic informational online services; 21% allow for downloading of forms; and 21% offer online transactions. In the non federal sector: 82% offer online services; 47% offer basic informational online services; 14% allow for downloading of forms; and 11% offer online transactions.

Percentage of ministries/organizations with a website

84% of public sector establishments have a web-site with a ‘.ae’ domain. Another 5% have a website in another domain. An additional 5% are on a third party website. Only 6% of public sector establishments do not have a website.


Non-FederalFederal

WW




Percentage of ministries/organizations collecting statistics on sustomer satisfaction of their online services

66% of public sector establishments collect information on customer satisfaction levels of their online services.In the federal sector 74% collect information on customer satisfaction levels of their online services. In the non federal sector 62% collect information on customer satisfaction levels of their online services.

W W

Non-FederalFederal

Percentage of Employees Using Computer Within the Last Year at Work

93% of employees used a computer at work within the last year.

In the federal sector 93% of employees used a computer at work within the last year. In the non federal sector 94% of employees used a computer at work within the last year.

Percentage of Employees who use the Internet in 0ffice

89% of public sector establishment employees use the Internet in the office and 80% use it on a daily basis.

Figure 52: Frequency of Staff Internet Use


Figure 53: Frequency of Staff Internet Use

Chapter 6Indicators Report for the ICT Business Sector

403 ICT related businesses were interviewed. For each business, the responsible administrator was interviewed as well as four randomly chosen employees. The survey used the ICT sector definition as developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD defines the ICT sector as businesses with the following International Standard Industry Classification (ISIC Rev 3.1) codes:

6420 Telecommunications7123 Renting of office machinery and equipment (including computers)72 Computer and related activities3000 Manufacture of office, accounting and computing machinery3130 Manufacture of insulated wire and cable3210 Manufacture of electronic valves and tubes and other electronic components3220 Manufacture of television and radio transmitters and apparatus for line telephony and line telegraphy3230 Manufacture of television and radio receivers, sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus, and associated goods3312 Manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, checking, testing, navigating and other purposes, except industrial process control equipment3313 Manufacture of industrial process control equipment 5151 Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment & software5152 Wholesale of electronic and telecommunications parts & equipment


CHAPTER 6:INDICATORS REPORT FOR THE ICT BUSINESS SECTOR

ICT business sector information is reported for the sector as a whole and also disaggregated by company size. The clas-sification was based on number of employees. Small ICT business is defined as those with 10 to 49 employees (73% of all ICT businesses), medium ICT business 50 to 249 employees (21% of all ICT businesses), large ICT business 250 or more em-ployees (6% of all ICT businesses). These classifications were chosen to be consistent with the standards established by the international organizations responsible for defining ICT Indicators. ICT businesses with fewer than 10 employees were not surveyed in accordance with those classification standards.

Proportion of ICT businesses with computers

99% of the ICT business establishments have at least one computer.

For large ICT businesses 100% had at least one computer, for medium ICT businesses 99% and for small ICT business 99%.For the purposes of this survey, a computer does not include equipment with some embedded computing abilities such as mobile phones or TV sets, nor does it include computer-controlled machinery or electronic tills.

Proportion of ICT businesses with a website

92% of ICT businesses have their own website site; a significantly higher figure than the overall private sector figure of 83%.For large ICT businesses 92% had a website, for medium ICT businesses 100% and for small ICT business 89%.


3

Looking at the same separated by small, medium and large ICT business shows:


Proportion of ICT businesses with an intranet, local area network (LAN), or extranet (multi-ple responses possible)

55% of ICT businesses make use of a Local Area Network (LAN). This is followed by Intranet (36%). 26% of ICT businesses use Extranets.




Proportion of ICT businesses receiving orders over the Internet

16% of ICT businesses have made online sales. Of these organizations receiving orders over the Internet, 85% received their sales orders using their own websites, 37% through Electronic Data Interchanges (EDIs), and 11% through use of specialized Internet market places.




Proportion of ICT businesses placing orders over the Internet

25% of ICT businesses have made online purchases. Of those organizations that made purchases over the Internet, 82% conducted the transaction via websites and 31% via EDI.

Figure 60: Methods of Placing Orders via Internet (multiple responses possible)



Figure 61: Methods of Placing Orders via Internet (multiple responses possible)

Proportion of ICT businesses with Internet access

99% of ICT businesses have some form of Internet connection. Of the different types of Internet connection, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) was the most popular (70%).




ICT Business use of the Internet by type of activity (multiple responses possible)

Sending and receiving emails (94%), and getting information on products and services (85%) ranked at the top of the list of the activities that were undertaken by ICT businesses on the Internet.





Proportion of ICT business employees using the Internet at work

97% of ICT Business employees routinely use the Internet at work.

Among large ICT businesses the percentage is 98%, for medium 97% and for small 97%.

g

g

Chapter 7

Indicators Report for PIAC Establishments

144 out of over 1400 Public Internet Access Centers (PIACs) that existed in 2008 were surveyed. The great majority of PIACs are internet cafes. For each PIAC, the responsible administrator was interviewed, as well as two employees.


CHAPTER 7: INDICATORS REPORT FOR PIAC ESTABLISHMENTSComposition of PIACs

86% of PIACs are Internet cafes.

Figure 66: Composition of PIACs

Number of visiting customers per month

Results from the survey show that each PIAC has approximately 57 customers daily, or about 1,700 customers per month.

Average hours spent by customer in a PIAC Per Visit

On average each customer spends about 1.7 hours per visit.

Chapter 8International Benchmarks


CHAPTER 8:INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKSBenchmarking

The ICT survey data, combined with other data TRA has collected from the industry in the UAE, has been benchmarked against a range of countries and used as a basis for analyzing the relative position of the UAE in the ICT sector.

In order to select the countries for inclusion in the benchmarking exercise, TRA chose a number of regions across the world for analysis. The regions selected included the Arab states, Europe, North America, and Asia.

Within each of those regions, an assessment was undertaken of the availability of indicator data across the countries within the region. This was necessary as many countries do not ,at this point in time ,collect data relating to all of the ICT “core indica-tors”. Countries selected were those with publicly available data sets that can be described as comprehensive compared to other countries within each region in relation to the indicators selected for benchmarking. Note, however, that some of the countries included in the exercise do not have data available for every indicator, and have accordingly been omitted from the analysis of those specific benchmarks.

Results

The information available suggests that:

• The UAE is the top performing country in ICT among the Arab states.• While the UAE compares relatively favorably on an international scale, there is still some progress needed to be equiva-

lent to the leading ICT countries such as those in Western Europe.

Nevertheless, the significant rate of growth experienced by the UAE in ICT development in recent years is very encouraging

and suggests that the UAE may be well on the way to achieving ICT levels comparable with those achieved by the currently

top ranking countries.

The charts below illustrate the UAE’s position relative to other Arab states and a range of countries in Europe, North America,

and Asia across 10 commonly available ICT indicators. The UAE ranks the first among the benchmarked Arab states in all 10

of these indicators, and first across all of the benchmarked countries in mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants, the proportion

of households with mobile telephony, and is one of several countries with ubiquitous mobile coverage. The UAE also performs

well in the percentage of homes with Internet, and the percentage of homes with a personal computer.

Figure 67: Internet Subscribers (Total Fixed Broadband) per 100 Inhabitants

United Arab Emirates


Malaysia

i

Figure 68: Internet Subscribers (Total Fixed Including Dial-up) per 100 Inhabitants

Figure 69: Main Fixed Telephone Lines per 100 Inhabitants



Malaysia


Figure 70: Mobile Subscribers per 100 Inhabitants

Figure 71: International Internet Bandwidth per Inhabitant (bits/s)



Figure 72: Percentage of Homes with a Personal Computer

Figure 73: Percentage of Homes with Internet


Figure 74 Coverage of Mobile Cellular Network Percentage of Population

Figure 75: Propostion of Households with Fixed Line Telephone.

Figure 76: Households with Mobile Phones

Other international benchmark study findings

A number of other recently published international studies emphasize the UAE’s favorable performance from an international perspective across various ICT indicators. The UAE ranked the first of all the Arab states in the 2007-2008 Network Readi-ness Index (NRI) study conducted by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, and 29th among all 127 countries assessed. The NRI measures the capacity of an economy to fully leverage ICT for increased competitiveness and development. The NRI study was published in The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 and is based on data collected by organizations such as the ITU, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

In terms of the individual indicators analyzed, the UAE ranked first among the Arab states on: internet user rates, international internet bandwidth capacity, the importance of ICT to government vision of the future, personal computers rates, ICT use and government efficiency, e-government readiness index, government prioritization of ICT, laws relating to ICT, and the number of telephone lines.

Internationally, the UAE was found to have the lowest residential monthly fixed telephone subscription charges and the lowest cost of mobile telephone calls (along with Egypt, Italy and Hong Kong).

In another study, Measuring the Information Economy, the ITU developed an ICT Development Index (IDI) which combines 11 indicators into a single measure to assess the level of ICT development within a country. The overall measure is also divided into three sub-indices relating to ICT access, use and skills which provide a further level of insight.

The study includes 154 countries which enables benchmarking globally, regionally, and at the country level. Indices are provided for both 2002 and 2007 to enable progress to be measured over time.

Key findings from this study include the following:

• Mobile penetration rates in the UAE, at 167 per 100 inhabitants in 2007, were the highest in the world. • The UAE ranked the highest of all the GCC and Arab states in the ICT Development Index.• The UAE ranked the highest of all the GCC and Arab states in the IDI infrastructure and access sub-index. This sub-index

is based on five indicators: fixed line penetration, mobile penetration, international Internet bandwidth per Internet user, the proportion of households with computers, and the proportion of households with Internet access.

• The UAE also ranked the highest of all the GCC and Arab states in the IDI use sub-index. This sub-index is based on the following three indicators: Internet user penetration, fixed broadband penetration, and mobile broadband penetration.

• The UAE recorded the fourth highest growth in ICT between 2002 and 2007 of all 154 countries examined in the report. • The report categorizes each of the 154 countries into one of four groups used to describe the level of ICT within the

economy: higher, upper, medium and low. The UAE was one of the 33 countries placed in the highest category, and was the only GCC/ Arab state to be included in this group. The other GCC countries were distributed between the medium and upper categories.

• The UAE ranked 6th in the world in the ICT Price Basket measure. The ICT Price Basket measures the sum of the 2008 prices of fixed telephony, mobile telephony and fixed broadband Internet as a % of a country’s monthly Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. The lower the price as a % of GNI per capita, the better the ranking.

• The UAE ranked 3rd in the world in the fixed telephony sub-basket, which measures the 2008 prices of fixed telephony as a % of GNI per capita, and 6th in the world for the mobile telephony sub-basket.

• In another study, the United Nations e-Government Survey 2008, the UAE is:• The top ranking Arab state in terms of e-readiness.• The top Arab state in the web-measure index which assesses the extent to which governments are providing e-government

policies, applications and tools, and the 12th in the world.• The fifth highest ranking country in the world in terms of transactional services.

According to data from Internet World Stats(1), Internet penetration rates in the UAE are high when compared against many regions of the world, and are very similar to that of Europe, as illustrated in the table below :

(1) Source: www.internetworldstats.com. Internet usage information was obtained from data published by Nielsen Online, the ITU, GfK, local regulators and other reliable sources. Population figures are based on data from the US Census Bureau.


Figure 77: Internet Penetration by Region

World Region Population(2008 Est.) Internet Penetration (% Population)

UAE 4,621,399 48.9%

Africa 975,330,899 5.6%

Asia 3,780,819,792 17.4%

Europe 803,903,540 48.9%

Middle East 196,767,614 23.3%

North America 337,572,949 74.4%

Latin America/Caribbean 581,249,892 29.9%

Oceania/Australia 34,384,384 60.4%

Data from the same source shows that overall Internet penetration rates (comprising dial-up plus broadband) in the UAE are

the highest in the region:

Figure 78: Internet Penetration by Arab Country

Country Population(2008 Est.) Internet Penetration (% Population)

UAE 4,621,399 48.9%

Bahrain 718,306 34.8%

Iraq 28,221,181 1.0%

Jordan 6,198,677 18.2%

Kuwait 2,596,799 34.7%

Lebanon 3,971,941 39.5%

Oman 3,311,640 10.3%

Palstine (West BK) 2,407,681 14.8%

Qatar 824,789 42.6%

Saudi Arabia 28,146,657 22.7%

Yemen 23,013,376 1.4%

The UK conducted a household survey in 2008 comparable to the one undertaken in the UAE. Assessment of the results reveals

that many similarities exist in terms of levels of access and use of the Internet within the two countries.

Figure 79: Comparison of Internet Indicators, UAE and UK

UAE UK

Households with Internet 66% 65%

Households with Broadband 57% 56%

Frequency of Internet Use Eve-ryday 78% 69%

Frequency of Internet Use Once a Week (but not every day) 18% 22%

Chapter 9Approach and Methodology


CHAPTER 9: METHODOLOGY

Figure 80: Approach for the Survey

Conduct surveys

Surveysresults

Develop thedetailedsurveys

Collect and reportfindings

Design thesurvey’sapproach

Indicators This survey primarily looked into the ICT indicators for the signs of the accessibility and usage of the ICT in UAE. The list of indicators selected was closely aligned to the various international ICT-related regulatory agencies.

Survey Instrument Considerable attention and effonts were given and some efforts were taken to develop the survey questionnaires as the value of the data would largely depend upon the wording and meaning of the survey questions. The questionnaires were developed with full appreciation of the specific respondents of the various sectors and the need to keep the phrasing simple and short.

Sampling and Survey MethodologyThe population universe and sample frames for each survey were drawn from the census framework and jointly worked out between the TRA and the Ministry of Economy (MoE).

The sample sizes were estimated using proportional allocation, an error margin of 3%, and a confidence level of 95%. Random samples were then generated based on the frame supplied by the MoE. The best survey practices (e.g. strict monitoring and cross checking) were used to minimize the impact of measurement errors. However, non-sampling error cannot be completely removed. The sample errors associated with each proportion were calculated using equal-tailed Jefferey’s prior interval method. Errors in total number estimates were calculated similarly.

The sample frames were provided by MoE, according to the Master Sampling Plan (updated in May 2008). The basic information collected was stratified at the Emirate level.

The Private Sector and ICT Sector sampling populations were based on several characteristics such as Ownership and Establishment Size. The Establishment Size is classified according to MoE’s guidelines and in line with UNCTAD guidelines, namely: small sized establishments (10-49 employees), medium sized establishments (50-249 employees) and large sized establishments (more than 249 employees). Private and ICT establishments with less than 10 employees were therefore excluded from the study. The data collected allow further analysis according to various factors such as Nationality, Age, Gender, etc.

Field Research Face-to-face interview was the primary mode used in the survey. Telephone interviews were used as part of the data validation process, for example, to clarify data collected earlier during the face-to-face interviews and to confirm that the field research-ers had indeed conducted the survey with the right respondents. In addition, the following steps were also taken to ensure the field researchers understood the purpose and rationale of the surveys and questionnaires and the appropriate manner in which the survey should be conducted:• Survey fieldwork was preceded by training.• The first 20 interviews in each survey were used as a pilot to check the survey length, to identify any potential problems,

and to ensure field researchers carried out the survey appropriately.• With the exception of the household establishments, interviews were conducted mainly during business hours. In most

cases, appointments were made and interviews were completed at the convenience of the respondents.