The Lebanese ICT sector holds a lot of economic potential given its fast-growing pace and its vast reach to the different aspects of consumers’ daily life, health, transport, etc. In fact, the sector’s added value amounted to $1.3 billion in 2013 and is estimated to have reached $1.7 billion in 2016, hence contributing to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product. The ICT sector is considered the fastest-growing sector of the economy after recording a 7 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the last two years alone.
According to Business Monitor International, the market size of information technology, which is an expanding segment of the ICT sector, registered a 12.6 percent CAGR in the last 10 years and is expected to hit $436 million in 2016 and $466 million in 2017.
The wave in favor of data usage seems to be modifying the ICT market’s dynamics in Lebanon. Between 2013 and 2015, according to the Telecommunications Ministry, the number of subscribers for broadband internet more than doubled, going from 480,000 to 1.24 million. Similarly, mobile data subscriptions hit 2.92 million in 2016 as compared to 2.02 million in 2015.
In the same context, low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol services through mobile devices boosted demand for data services at the expense of the standard calling services. Considered as the most successful technology of the last decade, VoIP services such as Skype, Viber and recently WhatsApp are becoming more popular among the Lebanese population as they provide a cheaper alternative for communication services. In fact, revenues deriving from voice calls are witnessing a double-digit decline simultaneously with data usage growing at a double-digit pace. “In fact, more than 50 percent of Alfa’s revenues are derived nowadays from data services rather than voice” said Marwan Hayek, chairman and CEO of Alfa.
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/lebanons-it-sector-fastest-growing-segment-economy-917376