Quadrupling the speed of broadband in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 0.6%, according to new research.
The findings are based on research jointly conducted by Ericsson, Arthur D. Little and Chalmers University of Technology.
Significantly, while doubling the country’s broadband speed would lead to a 0.3% increase in GDP worth almost US$4.178bn, quadrupling Internet access speeds would add approximately US$8.356bn or a growth of 0.6%.
The study also shows that additional doublings of speed can yield corresponding GDP growth stimuli.
“Broadband has emerged as a significant driver of economic growth even as we continue to evolve from an information society to what we, at Ericsson, call a Networked Society,” said Anders Lindblad, president, Ericsson Region Middle East and North Africa.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Broadband, whether mobile or fixed-line, is a vehicle for economic growth, innovation and productivity.”
He added, “The government and telecom operators here in the GCC have clearly recognised the importance of broadband and this is reflected in their collective efforts to achieve higher penetration across the region through fixed and mobile broadband solutions.”
Both broadband availability and speed are strong drivers in an economy. In 2010, Ericsson and Arthur D. Little concluded that for every 10 percentage point increases in broadband penetration, GDP increases by 1%.
