January 2001

Jordan Master Report

This is the final Alternative Networks report on Jordan as the ESIS project ended in January 2001. This Master Report covers the whole period of the ESIS project surveying the Mediterranean Area, March 1999 - January 2001 inclusive. 

1.1 Regulation of telecommunications and alternative networks

1.1.1 Historical overview

Jordanian telecommunications commenced during the early 1930 in Trans-Jordan under the supervision of the Post and Telegraph Department. Cable and Wireless Ltd. assisted in the development of telecommunications services through their involvement in developing international connections. After the founding of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan) the Ministry of Posts, Telegraph and Telephone was established which further developed telecommunications services. In 1961 the first automatic telephone services were introduced utilizing an electro-mechanical switch with a capacity of approximately 5,000 lines. Further exchanges were constructed to supplement the system. In 1966 the association with Cable and Wireless Ltd. was terminated and the Ministry of Posts, Telegraph and Telephony assumed responsibility for the system.

By 1971, which saw the formalisation of the Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) as a Government-controlled entity under the 1971 Law, Jordan was served by various telecommunications services such as telephone, telegraph and telex and was operating a satellite earth station which was using Intelsat facilities.

From 1973 to 1985, the system was expanded significantly under three successive government investment plans in response to increasing demand, which arose, both from the need to develop from a limited base and from general economic development in Jordan.

Between 1987 and 1992 Jordan suffered a recession and this affected the ability of obtaining Government funding to renovate and develop the telecommunications system, which was then starting to come under severe pressure as a result of increasing demand. This pressure was exacerbated by the further demand for telephone services following the return of Jordanian expatriates during the Gulf crisis in 1990/91.

A fourth significant development program had already been deferred due to the difficult economic environment preceding the onset of that recession. It was not until 1993 that the Government was able to initiate a further development program which has evolved into the National Telecommunications Program, which is now under implementation and it will increase the penetration ratio from 7.8 to 12 lines per 100 inhabitants.

1.1.2 Present general legislation

Parliament passed in 1995 the new telecommunications law allowing the private sector to build and operate private data, voice and image networks and to invest in telecommunications in Jordan.

The law establishes the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). It allows government ministers, departments and public agencies to build and operate their own telecommunications networks (TN's) and allows the private sector to build and operate TN's without a permit or license if the network is intended for in-house use. In addition to issuing all licensing regulations governing private sector operations, the TRC will issue labelling requirements for all imported telecommunications equipment. The law establishes the Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) as a public shareholding company whose share will be fully owned by the Government of Jordan for the near future.

The chronological evolution of the Telecommunications Sector Structure is:

1.1.3 Liberalisation

Jordan joined the World Trade Organization on Dec. 17, 1999. Following are some of the telecommunications commitments Jordan undertakes upon joining the WTO:

• Voice Telephony, Telex, Telegraph, Facsimile and Private Leased Circuit Services
  1. Remove by Dec. 31, 2004, JTC's exclusivity right on these services, as well as any restrictions on commercial presence and any discriminatory measures, if that may exist, between domestic and Foreign Service suppliers.
  2. Packet-switched data transmission, circuit-switched data transmission, e-mail, voice-mail, on-line information and data base retrieval, electronic data interchange, enhanced value added facsimile, code and protocol conversion, on-line information and/or data processing (including transaction processing), and Internet (excluding voice telephone and facsimile services).
  3. There are no restrictions (including market access limitations) on the above services, except that the provision of these services is carried only over circuits leased from JTC until Dec. 31, 2004, restriction which will also be removed by Dec. 31, 2004. Suppliers from WTO member states are allowed to deliver their services in Jordan without an in-country physical presence requirement.
• Mobile voice and data services
  Remove by Dec. 31, 2003, the duopoly (to install, operate and manage public mobile telephony) presently granted to MobileCom and Fastlink (cellular). No market access restrictions beyond the end of the duopoly.
• Global Mobile Personal Communication System (GMPCS)
  This service is being presently provided through a class license on a non-discriminatory basis (no preferential treatment of either domestic or foreign suppliers).
• Public Payphone & Paging Services
  The market for paging & public payphones is subject to economic needs test for licensing additional providers until the end of December 2004, after which the market for these services will be completely liberalized on a non-discriminatory basis, including national treatment.

Jordan also undertakes the obligations contained in the Chairman's Note (Reference Paper No. S/GBT/W/3, WTO-Group on Basic Telecommunications, dated Feb. 3, 1997), which includes the definitions and principles of the regulatory framework for the basic telecommunications services such as: Competitive safeguards, Interconnection, Universal service, Public availability of licensing criteria, Independent regulator, Allocation and use of scarce resources.

1.2 Regulation and status of public utilities and public organisations regarding a potential entry in the alternative networks industry

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) was established with the publication of the Telecommunications Law No. 13 of 1995 as the organization responsible for regulating and monitoring the telecommunications sector and for issuing the necessary licenses to market operators.

The law provided the legal basis for reform and played an important role in regulating the sector. It underscored various roles in and responsibilities for the management and development of the sector, including the formation of the TRC; it also provided for transforming the Telecommunications Corporation (TCC), former government-owned, exclusive, telecommunications operator, into a state-owned company bearing the name of Jordan Telecommunications Company (JTC). These provisions ensured that the operator is separated from the regulator.

The TRC is governed by a Board of Directors made up of seven members: the minister of post and communications, as chairman, the director general of the TRC, as vice chairman, and five limited-duration (four years) members, of whom two at least come from the public sector. To maintain the neutrality and independence of the board, none of the board members can be direct or indirect beneficiaries of investments in the telecommunications sector.

TRC Role

• Regulate the telecom sector in the Kingdom by protecting competition and not necessarily competitors.
• Monitor the performance of the parties licensed to provide telecom services and safeguard the interests of those benefiting from these services.
• Grant permits for the establishment, operation and management of private telecom networks, assign frequencies, recommend to the Council of Ministers the granting of licenses necessary for the establishment, operation and management of public telecom networks.
• Adopt a national numbering plan for public telecom services and grant the necessary approvals.
• Monitor and evaluate the performance of the parties licensed to provide telecom services.
• Draw up the standards, bases and formulae for determining the rates charged for telecom services, recommend to the Council of Ministers the approval of standards, bases and formulae, and determine rates in the absence of competition.
• Monitor and control the use of different radio waves and of equipment related to such usage, in accordance with the relevant international standards and commitments.
• Adopt and publish in the Official Gazette the technical specifications and measurements of the terminal equipment to be connected to the public networks.

1.2.1 Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN)

Currently, JTC is the only company that operates and manages a fixed public telecom network, provides local, national and international fixed telephony services, and leases lines. JTC has exclusivity for the provision of these services until the end of 2004.

JTC may lease lines to customers for use as private circuits. The TRC may give permission for self-provision of a private circuit longer than the defined distance, including international circuits, if the user has requested provision from JTC and the user's requirements for technical performance or time scale of provision are not met. The JTC license stipulates various regulations, including compliance with tariff policies, quality of service, numbering, universal service obligation, network interconnection and leased lines.

1.2.2 Public Payphones

This service is provided through Trans Jordan for Communication Services Co.(ALO) and Jordan Public Payphone Co. (JPP). The total number of public payphones in the Kingdom is close to 6,200 lines. JTC has a license to provide the service, but has not started operation yet.

1.2.3 Mobile Telephony

Jordan Mobile Telephone Services (Fastlink), which is partly owned by Motorola Co., has been providing this service since 1995. The company has a countrywide GSM900 cellular network. Moreover, JTC has been granted a license to provide this service through an affiliate (MobileCom), to compete with Fastlink, and started operation in September 2000. The two companies have dual exclusivity (duopoly) for providing GSM900 mobile service until the end of 2003.

1.2.4 Paging

This service is provided through the National Group for Communications - Jordan (NGC-Zajel), a completely foreign owned company, and Jordan Paging Company (JRP-Mirsal). The penetration rate, as at the end of 1999, reached 4.8 per 1,000 inhabitants. The companies provide, in addition to the main services, group paging, remote access paging, operator services (24 hours) numeric, E-mail notification, Internet paging and voice mail service.

1.2.5 Liberalisation status

2.1 Types of companies offering networks (gas, railway, water and draining networks, waterways, motorways, electrical networks, cable...): description, choice and strategies (alliance opportunities, vertical integration,…), and customer targeting.

2.1.1 Electricity

The National Electric Power Company (Nepco) is a state utility and has been converted into a corporation divided into three distinct companies for generation, transmission and distribution, which have been operating as separate entities since January 1, 1999. The Jordan Electricity Company’s geographical coverage is the Amman & Zarqa Governorets with approximately 2,000 employees, the Irbid Electricity Company’s geographical coverage is the Irbid Governoret and employs 500 people, and the National Electricity Company’s geographical coverage is the rest of Jordan, Syria and Egypt with approximately 1,500 employees.

An area of potential regional cooperation involves integration of individual national power transmission grids into a regional power network. Such a network would allow power companies to take advantage of differences in peak demand periods, reduce the need for (and the costs associated with) installation and maintenance of reserve generating capacity, and provide outlets for surplus generating capacity (mainly from Israel to Jordan). Israel and Jordan have tentatively agreed to link their power grids.

Jordan is planning to attract international projects using other technologies, such as harnessing wind power and utilizing its reserves of oil shale, which has low oil content. The requests for proposals for a 25 MW wind farm in the Aqaba area, in the south of the country, were expected to be issued by the end of 2000, with start up slated for the end of 2002.

Jordan was also working with Canada's Suncor Energy, which could provide the technology to help Jordan exploit its 40 billion tonnes of oil shale reserves.

2.1.2 Water Network

The main water utility, is the state-owned Water Authority of Jordan, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Water & Irrigation. The Water Authority has approximately 2,000-2,500 employees. An important issue for Jordan is adequate water availability. Jordan is looking to increase its fresh water supplies, as its underground aquifers are being depleted as the country’s water consumption rises along with the rapidly growing population. One proposal is for a $5 billion canal linking the Red Sea with the Dead Sea, where desalination plants would produce water for consumption in Israel and Jordan. The Water Authority of Jordan is also considering forms of privatization to improve it s efficiency and finance costly new water infrastructure.

2.1.3 Oil

Jordan has nearly no oil resources of its own, and relies on Iraqi oil for nearly all of its needs. In early July 1998, Jordan and Iraq agreed on construction of a joint oil pipeline with an initial capacity of 100,000 bbl/d. The proposed 400-mile pipeline would carry oil form Iraq to the existing Zarqa refinery northeast of Amman, as well as the new refinery in Aqaba.

Jordan has one refinery, in Zarqa, with a capacity of 95,000 bbl/d and is operated by Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC). Besides the Zarqa refinery, which produces oil products for domestic consumption, Jordan is looking into the possibility of building an export-oriented oil refinery as well. The refinery’s output would target markets in Asia, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.

Jordan’s state Natural Resources Authority (NRA) has been promoting exploration within the country, which has been relatively unexplored until now. In October 1995, the NRA signed agreements with Malaysia’s Petronas and Houston-Based Trans-Global Petroleum for possible exploration of northern and central Jordan. To help attract foreign investment, the Jordanian government has plans to privatize its oil sector. In October 1995, the country set up the state-owned National Petroleum Co. (NPC) to handle upstream oil and gas exploration. The intent is for NPC to operate as independently as possible, and eventually to be privatized.

2.1.4 Natural Gas

There is no Gas company operating in Jordan. In June 1998, the Jordanian government awarded a contract to build a 170-mile natural gas pipeline from fields in Egypt’s Nile Delta region across the Sinai and under the Red Sea to Aqaba. The gas is to be used as a replacement for diesel and fuel oil used to generate electricity. The pipeline is to transport 212 million cubic feet per day of gas, beginning in 2001, and increasing to 318 million cubic feet per day in 2006. Jordan is hoping to use natural gas as part of a strategy aimed at diversifying away from imported Iraqi oil.

2.1.5 Railway

The Railway Company in Jordan is the state-owned Hijazi Railway Line, which covers all of Jordan and links with Syria and employs 500 people.

2.1.6 Cable TV

The Cable TV Company in Jordan is the state-owned Radio and TV Establishment that has a linking satellite with most countries of the World, and is working at establishing more connections. The Radio and TV Establishment has approximately 1000 employees.

2.1.7 Jordan Civil Aviation Authority

Civil aviation and air transport play an important role in society, locally and at regional and international levels. This role stems from the fact that air transport effects economical, cultural, commercial and political aspects of life. Moreover, air transport has been instrumental in bringing different people all over the world together and thus bridging the gaps and facilitating mutual understanding. The development of this sector is controlled by many factors.

The last three decades have witnessed a rapid expansion and modernization of Jordan Civil Aviation. Due to the tireless support of the Hashemite Royal family, where H.M. the late King Hussein, H.M. King Abdulla II, H.M. Queen Noor and H.R.H. Prince Faysal, have taken a particularly active role in the development of Jordan's airports, airlines and training institutions.

Jordan has recently modernized its air navigation systems through the introduction of monopulse secondary radar and raster color displays, new flight data processing system and air traffic control simulator. Modernization of VHF and voice communication systems is also being considered in the very near future.

Jordan is taking active part in the work of Middle East Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group, particularly in the application of advanced technology in communication, navigation, and surveillance systems and air traffic management.

2.2 Types of operators using the networks.

The above Jordanian companies are using their network infrastructure for provision of their services. Also, because most of their plans have been on improving their infrastructure (ie. water, natural gas), there currently are no plans to utilize their networks to offer alternative services such as telecommunication.

2.3 Types of services offered by the operators on the networks.

Telecommunications Services Providers in Jordan

Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Commission - http://www.trc.gov.jo/default.htm