Next Generation Digital Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities for Development in the Arab Region

This paper looks at the global landscape of next generation digital infrastructure. It will explore the main elements of the ecosystem, the different stakeholders, as well as prevailing usage trends accompanying the evolution in broadband technologies. It will further explore the main drivers for the rollout of next generation networks and the emerging models for deployment. In the second part, the paper will take a more focused look at the Arab region, exploring the context for next generation digital infrastructure rollout, the main deployment models and the regional landscape to date. Additionally, it will attempt to define the prevailing regulatory and operational challenges, and the opportunities that lie ahead in addressing them through a roadmap of strategic tools and measures. At the end, a brief overview of the changing ICT landscape will be presented, exploring the rise of the App Economy and entailing the needed shift in regulatory paradigms and in national policies.

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