While 2009 showed a general slight decrease in broadband wireless subscribers globally, the Middle East actually saw a very healthy growth. There was a 22 percent growth between Q1 2008 and Q2 2009, according to TeleGeopgraphy, a telecommunication research, analysis and consulting company.

Broadband also showed a growth of 25 percent over the same period, in contrast to a near plateau globally.

But this growth is not accompanied by a similar one in Arabic language online, explained Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, secretary general at ictQATAR, during the opening of the Digital Communication Literacy Forum. Arabic is the 5th most spoken language in the world, but only accounts for 1% of material online. It ranks 27th on Wikipedia.

But this fast growth shows several trends in the region.

Mobile is fast becoming one of the most important tools for accessing the internet and broadband. With penetration in many Arab states surpassing 100 percent, young people spend more time on their mobile phones than most devices.

But how will this affect how we interact with the different media outlets in our lives?

Jeff Cole, director of the World Internet Project, thinks that digital technologies will have a far bigger impact than television ever did.

“When internet penetration reaches 30 percent, newspapers sales start going down,” he explained. The Middle East is not there yet, but it would be smart for newspapers to start adapting to the digital world.

But Cole also believes that broadband will give TV a great boost. “Television has previously been confined to our hours at home. But now the internet can break that barrier, taking TV anywhere.”

It would be interesting to see if these same concepts do apply in the Middle East. Granted, each community, and each demographic group, go online for different reasons than others.

So how will this boost in broadband availability affect the decimation of information and news in the Middle East?