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Published:August 2008 From: £535 |
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This annual report offers a wealth of information on trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband in the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.
Subjects covered
- Market and industry analyses, trends and developments
- Facts, figures and statistics
- Industry and regulatory issues
- Infrastructure
- Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU
- Internet, VoIP, IPTV
- Mobile Voice and Data Markets
- Broadband (DSL, cable TV, wireless)
- Convergence and Digital Media
Executive Summary
Key highlights
- The GCC countries are investing in NGN infrastructure, with FttH becoming a reality, particularly in the smaller and more urban countries. Broadband penetration levels do not appear high but improve once larger household sizes are accounted for. Household broadband penetration in the UAE is at least 40%
- Zain of Kuwait and Etisalat of the UAE have continued their expansion abroad. Zain now operates in 20 countries and Etisalat in 16, in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Etisalat claimed to be the fastest growing mobile operator in the world in 2008, with a proportional mobile subscriber base of 24.2 million, an annual increase of 106.41%
- Qtel of Qatar is also expanding rapidly abroad, also with interests in 16 countries (most of them acquired in 2007), although as yet with a smaller subscriber total than Etisalat or Zain. STC of Saudi Arabia has aspirations to join the club, with new interests in Kuwait, South Africa and Turkey
- The remarkable regional DTH satellite TV market continues unabated, with around 300 FTA channels plus pay TV operators. Despite many channels being launched for political rather than commercial reasons, the competition is generating some very interesting players – news channels Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya and more entertainment-oriented channels from Rotana and others
- The launch of services by MTN Irancell has transformed the Iranian mobile market, causing annual growth of over 100%, hugely greater availability of services and introduced a degree of transparency to the market
- All countries have licensed at least two mobile operators. A third licence has been granted for Kuwait, while in Bahrain an auction for a third licence in imminent
- Saudi Arabia’s third mobile operator, Zain, is about to launch operations into an already very competitive market. Saudi Arabia will see major players STC, Etisalat and Zain go head to head
- Of the many new licences auctioned in the region in the past few years, the second Qatari mobile licence was the first to go to a European operator. Vodafone Qatar expects to launch services early in 2009
- Since the introduction of competition to the UAE mobile market, penetration rates have leapt to nearly 170%. Growth rates in all countries tend to reflect the degree of competition in the market rather than the penetration levels
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