One-third as talkative as Israelis

One look at Paltel's Web site is all it takes for one to be able understand the anomalous situation of the Palestinian Authority's economy. The cost of phone calls is listed in Israeli shekels, but the company's financial results are in Jordanian dinars, and CEO Abdel Malik Jaber speaks in dollars. Whatever the currency, the communication habits in the Palestinian market are easy to learn. The average Palestinian talks for 132 minutes a month, compared to 345 for the average Israeli. Paltel's average monthly revenue per user is $18, while Israeli companies earn about $37 from each customer. Like other emerging economies, there are far more cellular phones than land lines.

Paltel's cellular subsidiary, Jawwal, has 1.1 million subscribers, and another 700,000 Palestinians subscribe to Israel's four cellular operators. Some areas of the PA even have better reception from the Israeli operators than from Jawwal, because the Palestinian company cannot set up antennas in West Bank areas controlled by Israel. Sometimes a Jawwal subscriber traveling through the West Bank has to roam between Israeli networks, as if he were traveling abroad.

Ninety percent of Jawwal's customers pay for their calls in advance, via phone cards, while the other 10% are "regular" credit customers.