ICT, Internet usage among Jordanian households increases — ministry

AMMAN — Approximately 90 per cent of Jordanian households have a smartphone, 89 per cent have an Internet subscription and 33 per cent have computers, the ICT Ministry said on Wednesday. 

In a 2017 study on ICT usage among families in the Kingdom, the ministry said that the percentage of households that possess an Internet subscription in 2017 increased by 8 per cent from 80.8 per cent in 2016. 

The survey, which covered 4,140 families, showed a 2 per cent increase in households that have personal computers or laptops, from 31 to 33 per cent between 2016 and 2017, according to a ministry statement.

The study, which is prepared annually by the ICT ministry in cooperation with the Department of Statistics, aims at providing a database on ICT usage among Jordanian families.

The database includes the use of ICT, e-government services and e-commerce, as well as monthly expenditures on these services. 

The survey also said that 50 per cent of Jordanian families who do not own a computer cited not needing one as their main reason for not possessing a personal computer, while 27.8 per cent of households said they have other alternatives. 

Approximately 13 per cent of the families cited a lack of knowledge about computers, as the main reason they do not own one. 

As for the Internet, the study revealed that mobile broadband services were the most common way of connecting to the Internet, accounting for 97.3 per cent of connections, followed by WiMAX with 7.2 per cent. 

The survey showed that 98.5 per cent of individuals aged five and older, access the Internet through their smartphones or tablets, while 48.7 per cent of individuals use the Internet from their homes. 

The percentage of families that own a mobile phone (regular and smart), increased to 98.4 per cent in 2017, a slight increase of 0.1 per cent compared to 2016. Some 90 per cent of households include at least one member who possesses a smartphone. 

The average monthly expenditure on mobile phones fell from JD21.4 in 2016 to JD20.8 in 2017, and the monthly expenditure on the Internet also decreased from JD24.6 to JD21.2, between 2016 and 2017.