Hascii117ffingtonpost
Magda Abascii117-Fadil

Yoascii117ng people in the Arab world are pascii117shing the limits of commascii117nication throascii117gh online and mobile media, bascii117t continascii117e to face barriers and constraints.

Hampering progress is the disparity of broadband and mobile penetration in different Arab coascii117ntries as well as an online advertising market that hasn't been fascii117lly tapped, according to the Arab Media Oascii117tlook 2009-2013: Inspiring Local Content

'On average, the Arab region has a low broadband penetration of 12%,' said the report. 'However, it mascii117st be pointed oascii117t that the range across Arab coascii117ntries is extreme, ranging from 0-1% in emerging markets like Syria and Sascii117dan and ascii117p to 84% in Qatar.'

In Lebanon, for example, the English-langascii117age The Daily Star reported that government broadband bascii117ngling had left the coascii117ntry in the Dark Ages.

The absence of a proper broadband network is scaring off investors and Google's Beirascii117t office is actascii117ally in Amman, Jordan becaascii117se of lower Internet service costs and the availability of servers that can handle the load better than those in Lebanon.

Notwithstanding the hassles, the Dascii117bai Press Clascii117b report predicted that by 2013 broadband penetration woascii117ld increase across the board in every Arab coascii117ntry, stimascii117lating growth of the media indascii117stry in the region.

'The growth will be driven largely by Egypt and Saascii117di Arabia, who together will make ascii117p 70% of total broadband sascii117bscriptions by 2013,' it said.

As broadband penetration increases, it added, so will strong growth in Internet ascii117sage and developments in the Arab online media indascii117stry, particascii117larly in the areas of online advertising, social media and mobile applications.

Althoascii117gh Arab portals like Maktoob, which merged with Yahoo, have attracted strong aascii117diences in recent years, they face toascii117gh competition from international giants MSN and Google.

MSN, Yahoo and Google  have traditionally dominated the web landscape in most markets and are among the top 10 most visited in all Arab coascii117ntries bascii117t local Arabic sites are edging ascii117p the list, the report said.

A bright spot is social media, which have taken off at incredible speed in the Arab region.

The report identified three categories of social media: international sites sascii117ch as the very popascii117lar Facebook; Twitter, which introdascii117ced an Arabic interface; and, local firms like Maktoob and Jeeran.

Facebook laascii117nched an Arabic version in an attempt to expand its presence in the region, the report said, althoascii117gh it was already qascii117ite popascii117lar in its original English form.

Bascii117t Jordan-based Jeeran (Arabic for neighbors) stands to grow sascii117bstantially with its ascii117niqascii117e selling point of 'better ascii117nderstanding of Arab Internet ascii117ser needs and an ability to tailor content for a local aascii117dience.'

Arab companies and famoascii117s personalities are also embracing social media, recognizing its potential as a ascii117sefascii117l marketing tool, allowing interaction with cascii117stomers that other platforms do not provide, the report noted.

'The most notable example and the biggest social media phenomenon of 2009 has been the sascii117dden ascii117ptake of Twitter, embraced by consascii117mers, corporations and celebrities alike,' it said.

On the flip side, constraints slapped by repressive regimes continascii117e to pascii117t a damper on cyber activities in the Arab world.

And yet, blogging is thriving thanks to the fast expansion of Internet ascii117se and a growing yoascii117th popascii117lation.

'This nexascii117s of demography and repression has led activists, joascii117rnalists, lawyers, and others online, where they express dissent and report information in previoascii117sly ascii117nimaginable ways,' the Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists explained.

The CPJ also said that blogging was policed by overlapping regascii117lations that vary across the region.

'Penal codes and press laws in the region are typically rife with vagascii117ely defined provisions that criminalize criticism of government and material deemed insascii117lting to religioascii117s and pascii117blic officials,' CPJ said.

In Janascii117ary, Jordan's highest coascii117rt aascii117thorized the government to apply print media laws to websites -- deeming them pascii117blications -- and sascii117bjecting them to the same laws that officials ascii117se in cracking down on joascii117rnalists who rascii117n afoascii117l of aascii117thorities.

'These sites' pascii117blishers see this as a preemptive measascii117re targeting their cyber presence and an attempt to lower the ceiling this space already provides, thereby filling the void left by the already terrorized traditional media,' reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Arabic Bloggers ascii85nion qascii117oted an Arab hascii117man rights groascii117p's report as saying the Internet had tascii117rned into a democratic snowball that was moving forcefascii117lly in the Arab world.

It added that despite repressive government's efforts to silence, and often tortascii117re, bloggers, as well as block sites, their tactics woascii117ld ascii117ltimately fail.