Region must boost online Arabic content

Abu Dhabi: The opportunity to create Arabic domain names is not a solution to internet-related problems, including penetration in the Arab world, an official at Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) told Gulf News on Wednesday.

Massive awareness drives are needed to prompt the Arab world to utilise this opportunity, but also to improve the internet penetration from the existing 20 per cent and the affordability and Arabic content of the internet should improve in the Arab world as well, said Baher Esmat, regional relations manager for the Middle East, ICANN, the non-profit body that oversees internet addresses.

Cost hurdles

Only nine out of 22 Arab Nations, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, showed interest in creating Arabic domains, according to an ICANN survey last year, he said.

The cost of the high-speed internet access is a big hindrance in the Arab world, although many countries have reduced the cost, Esmat said. "In Egypt, [the] monthly cost of a 256K broadband internet connection has come down from $60-$70 (Dh220) to $8 in past five years."

There should be competition among the providers, only then [will] the price will go down."

More internet cafes offering affordable prices, especially in the countryside, should come up to attract the masses.

Regarding the content, more e-services of the government and business services should be available in Arabic, the official said. Now most of the online or e-services are in English, he noted. The UAE has been actively promoting the use of Arabic, according to the official.

The new Arabic domains will make a huge impact in Saudi Arabia as most of the internet users are accessing Arabic websites, he said.

Asked whether new Arabic domains will promote more Arabic blogs, he replied: "I don't think so — blogs are like any other service or application. So once we have domains in Arabic, bloggers may be interested in registering their own domains in Arabic, too. But I don't think that this will promote blogging per se." Esmat explained.