Ammon News - by Mohammad Ghazal / Jordan Times

AMMAN — Videos account for around 50 per cent of the data consumed on the Internet in Jordan, and the figure is expected to grow in the near future, according to Zain Jordan CEO Ahmad Hanandeh.

Web browsing comes second in data traffic consumption in the Kingdom, followed by accessing social networking sites, Hanandeh said in a presentation during the recently held 10th Convergence Summit, organised by the Arab Advisers Group.

According to a copy of the presentation e-mailed to The Jordan Times, average mobile user traffic per month is expected to grow significantly from 2013 to 2017.

In 2013, the average mobile traffic per month for each user stands at 201 megabytes, which includes an average of one hour of video, two hours of audio, one video call and one application download, Hanandeh said during the presentation.

In 2017, the average monthly traffic per user is expected to reach two gigabytes, comprising 10 hours of video, 15 hours of audio, five video calls and 15 application downloads, he added.

Two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2017, while one quarter of mobile users will own two or more mobile-connected devices by 2016, which will increase consumption of data over the web, Hanandeh noted.

“Video consumption is on the rise in Jordan and this requires investing further in communication networks and providing capacities to keep up with the demand.”

He added that the rise in smartphone ownership in Jordan will trigger further growth in data consumption.

Smartphone penetration in the Kingdom reached 42 per cent by the end of 2012 and is expected to grow annually at a range of 7-10 per cent, according to figures by the Arab Advisers Group.

Global mobile data traffic will increase 13 times from 2013 to 2017 and the Middle East and Africa region will witness the highest growth rate at 77 per cent, according to Hanandeh.