Located in the heart of the Middle East, Jordan's geographical position and compact size, covering approximately 90,000 square kilometres, significantly influence its technological and telecommunications landscape. The majority of the population, which totals about 11 million, is concentrated in the north-west of the country, in and around the capital, Amman. Despite its arid and desert-like topography, the country has seen substantial investment in telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in urban areas. The telecommunications sector, including mobile and internet services, is one of the most advanced in the region. Jordan has also invested heavily in renewable energy, with solar and wind projects providing a significant proportion of the country's power needs. Despite these advancements, the technology sector, particularly in areas such as advanced manufacturing and automation, is still in a developing stage. Infrastructure in rural and remote areas remains a challenge, with a significant digital divide between urban and rural populations.
Mobile Network Operators
The are 3 companies operating mobile networks in this region.
Orange Jordan is a public mobile telecommunications network operator based in Jordan. The company was officially registered on 21 September 1999 with the objective of establishing a comprehensive mobile communications network throughout the Kingdom of Jordan. It commenced full public service operations on 15 September 2000. Initially, the mobile operator was named MobileCom before undergoing a rebranding process in 2007 to become Orange Jordan.
In terms of ownership, Orange Jordan was privatised on 23 January 2000. Post-privatisation, the Jordanian government retained a 60% stake in the...
Umniah is a Jordanian mobile network operator, established in August 2004. It was founded by Michael Dagher, a former executive of Fastlink (now Zain Jordan), and the Fouad Al Ghanem Group of Kuwait, with Huawei Technologies and HP as strategic partners. The company was granted the second GSM license in August 2004 by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to operate, manage and own a public digital cellular mobile network in Jordan.
In June 2006, Umniah became a subsidiary of Batelco, a state-owned Bahraini telecommunications company, when it acquired 96 percent of Umniah's shares. The...
Zain Jordan is a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti mobile telecommunications company, Zain Group. The parent company, originally known as MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Company), was founded in 1983 in Kuwait and rebranded as Zain in 2007. Zain Jordan, as part of the Zain Group, operates within the telecommunications sector in Jordan. The parent company's Vice Chairman and Group CEO is Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, who took up the role in March 2017. The ownership of the Zain Group is divided, with the Kuwait Investment Authority holding approximately 24.6% and Omantel owning 21.9%. The remaining shares...