October 1999

Jordan Update Memo

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

1. On going changes in the regulatory framework

Ministries & Regulatory Bodies

A cabinet reshuffle took place in early September, the first since last March when PM Mr. Abdur-Ra'uf Rawabdeh took on his governmental duties. Mr. Mohammed Jum'a Al Wahesh, ex-General Secretary of the Civil Service Commission, is the new Minister of Social Development and Mr. Saeed Shuqum, the former President of Al Ahli Sports Club, is the new Minister of Youth and Sports. Former Minister of Social Affairs Mr. Faisal Al Rifou' was re-appointed as Minister of Culture. The Deputy PM Mr. Ayman Al Majali becomes the Minister of Information (in addition to his other duties) and Mr. Nasser Al Lawzi was appointed as the Minister of Transport. The ministry of Culture was split from the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Transport was split from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, thus raising the Jordanian Ministries to the number of 24.

The organisational chart of the ministries is as follows:

This change does not effect the institutional structures in charges of the regulatory issues and the regulatory framework. The ministry in charge of the telecommunication issues in Jordan is still the Ministry of Post and Communication (http://www.mopc.gov.jo/) and the national regulatory authority is the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) (see JOregQ1 report par 2.1, 2.2).

2. On-going developments

Allocation of resources

A new licence for data transmission was issued in May to Maxxnet. Maxxnet has been making significant efforts in the last quarter to be operational, however the company has not yet started its operations.