An initial reaction to the UAE's legions of smartphone users' low engagement with 4G because of high data costs might be to wonder what all the fuss is about. This technology, it seems, is mostly used to view amusing YouTube videos rather than achieving anything productive.
But this is to miss the nature of disruptive technologies and the as-yet-unimagined innovations that will follow the adoption of lightning fast data-transfer networks. Even 20 years ago, who could have predicted the ways in which the internet would change the world we live in? That process began at dial-up speeds, so what will 4G – or even the 1gb/second of 5G, now being tested – usher in? The digital revolution is still in its infancy.
The UAE has long identified the digital sector as a way to diversify its economy to create highly-skilled jobs for Emiratis and to be a global innovation hub. It has many natural advantages, including a cutting-edge mobile internet network and one of the world’s highest rates of smartphone ownership.
But the chokepoint in this process has been affordability of data, for which the UAE ranks 37th in the world. Prices in Qatar and Saudi Arabia are a fraction of the UAE's, which is why most smartphone users here only use their phones for sending messages or social media. This means that instead of small business owners finding they have the full computing power of their offices in their pockets, allowing them to be productive while mobile, most barely scratch the surface of their phones' capabilities.
What ought to be done? The experience of other countries indicates that at least three companies are needed for the market to operate competitively.
The important thing for the UAE is to create the environment in which innovation and imagination will bring the promise of 4G and 5G to fruition – quite possibly in currently unimagined ways. If the price issue is not reviewed the UAE risks finding itself in a layby on the information superhighway.
