Middle East - Mobile Broadband and Infrastructure - Statistics and Analyses

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MIDDLE EAST MOBILE BROADBAND ANDINFRASTRUCTUREST
ATISTICS AND ANALYSES
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Mobile broadband in the Middle East offers a
diverse mix of opportunities and challenges

• The Middle East mobile broadband market offers a
  diverse mix of opportunity and challenges due to
  the many variances between the different
  countries which make up this vibrant region. Many
  countries have reached mobile saturation and this
  combined with infrastructure improvements such as
  LTE 4G roll-outs creates opportunity for mobile
  broadband growth in these markets.
• The United Arab Emirates has a well established
  mobile sector, with mobile penetration among the
  highest in the world, largely due to the
  countrys affluence as well as to a significantly
  sized and fluid population of expatriate workers.
  Often, consumers own more than one SIM card to
  take advantage of promotional offers.
• Etisalat and du have both deployed sophisticated
  HSPA and LTE networks that cover more than 88
  of the population, underpinning growth
  opportunities centred on mobile broadband,
  content and applications. Smart phones are
  becoming increasingly popular, accounting for
  close to two thirds of the countrys mobile
  handsets. 
• Kuwait also has a very high mobile penetration
  and represents a bright spot amongst a region
  marred by civil tension. The mobile operators in
  Kuwait are forging ahead and developing both
  infrastructure and services, with the three major
  operators of Zain Kuwait, VIVA and Ooredoo all
  offering LTE services and also deploying or
  exploring LTE-A services. This has created an
  environment where mobile broadband has become a
  feasible proposition with all three mobile
  network operators offering mobile broadband
  services.

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Mobile broadband subscriptions outnumber fixed
broadband subscriptions

• Mobile broadband subscriptions outnumber fixed
  broadband subscriptions by a long way in Saudi
  Arabia, which reflects the countrys large
  household size. While fixed broadband normally
  serves the home, mobile broadband subscriptions
  are individual. Therefore, mobile broadband
  subscriptions are likely to continue growing
  beyond the 100 per capita penetration threshold
  due to some users having more than one mobile
  connected device.
• Iraqs telecommunications sector began on a
  positive note in 2015 with the roll-out of 3G
  services by three operators Zain Iraq, Asiacell
  and Korek Telecom. Prior to the current civil
  tension there was also a progressive fibre optic
  deployment occurring across parts of Iraq. In the
  longer term - the Iraq telecoms market offers
  many opportunities once the civil unrest
  stabilises and the government and operators are
  able to focus again on telecoms and digital
  growth. It has a large population of mobile phone
  users which have not yet adopted mobile broadband
  at any significant levels.
• Yemen still has a number of hurdles to overcome
  before its telecoms sector can be considered
  progressive not least the current political
  unrest which has reportedly seen attacks on
  telecommunications infrastructure. While four
  mobile operators ensure GSM and CDMA mobile
  services are available - mobile broadband
  services are still unaffordable for much of the
  population.

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Syria is also in the midst of civil war which is
not conducive to telecoms development

• Syria is also in the midst of civil war which is
  not conducive to telecoms development. Mobile
  broadband is however available with both Syriatel
  and MTN Syria offering access via 3G services.
  Combined, the two companies had over 1.2 million
  active subscribers to mobile broadband services
  in 2014. However with the current civil fighting
  and destruction to telecommunications equipment
  is unclear in 2015 how much this has impacted
  upon telecoms services.
• Lebanon is home to a growing technology sector,
  complete with local start-up incubators designed
  to provide seed funding and mentoring to
  technology entrepreneurs. To address the
  infrastructure issue a number of start- up
  hosting locations have emerged with the support
  of the government, in recognition of the
  importance of nurturing a local digital economy
  to contribute to overall economic development.
• Building on this environment, in late 2014 the
  World Bank announced it would launch its Mobile
  Internet Ecosystem project (MIEP) in the country.
  Lebanon was chosen by the World Bank because it
  has a highly educated population who can speak a
  number of languages is home to a number of well
  regarded universities for the region and has an
  economy which uses multiple currencies. Mobile
  services in Lebanon are provided by Alfa and MTC
  Touch over the government owned networks. Both
  operators launched 3G/HSPA services in October
  2011, followed by 4G LTE networks more recently

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Key developments

• Etisalat planned to cover 99 of populated areas
  in the UAE with 4G by end-2015.
• In August 2015 Turkey finally conducted its LTE
  Spectrum Auction and attracted US4.5 billion in
  bids. The three incumbent operators, Vodafone,
  Avea and Turkcell all obtained licenses across
  the various frequencies.
• In recent years, foreign companies were reluctant
  to invest in Irans ICT market due to sanctions
  placed against it. But with the easing and
  possible lifting of these sanctions it is
  expected that attention will again turn towards
  this potentially lucrative market.
• Infrastructure-based competition has been
  essential to growth in Bahrain ADSL was once the
  dominant means of broadband access prior to
  widespread adoption of WiMAX and mobile
  broadband, which combined represent over 90 of
  total broadband subscriptions.
• Jordans mobile broadband sector has around 2.3
  million active subscribers in 2015 and this in
  turn is stimulating the growth of mobile apps,
  especially those based on messaging and social
  networking.
• .The mobile content and applications market has
  come under renewed focus in Israel given the
  increasing affordability and penetration of
  smartphones.

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Companies mentioned in this report

• Batelco, MenaTelecom, Lightspeed Communications,
  Kalaam Telecom, 2Connect, Noorsat, Zain Bahrain,
  Viva Bahrain Telecommunication Company of Iran
  (TCI), Mobile Communications Iran (MCI), MTN
  Irancell, Tamin Telecom (Rightel), Rafsanjan
  Industrial Complex (Taliya), Mobile
  Telecommunications Company of Isfahan (MTCE),
  Telecommunication Kish Company (TKC) Iraqi
  Telephone and Postal Company (ITPC), Newroz
  Telecom, Asiacell, Zain Iraq, Korek Telecom,
  Regional Telecom Cellcom, Orange (Partner),
  Pelephone (Bezeq), HOT Mobile, Golan Telecom,
  Rami Levy, Alon Cellular, Home Cellular, Marathon
  Mobile/Marathon 018 Xphone, Rounds Jordan
  Telecom Group/Orange, Zain Jordan,
  Batelco/Umniah, MarkaVIP, Maktoob Group, Jabbar
  Internet Group, Jeeran, Sallaty, TE Data, Virgin
  Mobile MEA Ministry of Communications,
  Qualitynet, Orbit Showtime Network (OSN), KIPCO,
  Mobile Telecommunications Co (MTC) / Zain,
  Ooredoo Kuwait, Kuwait Telecom Company (KTC) /
  Viva Ogero Telecom, Cable One (Wigo Lebanon),
  Cedarcom, GlobalCom Data Services (GDS), Pesco
  Telecom, Sodetel, IDM/Cyberia

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Mobile content and applications

• With increased competition, the mobile operators
  have focussed on mobile applications and content,
  made easier through the launch of 3G services.
• Orange Jordan has utilised its mobile data
  network to offer a variety of mobile content,
  including mobile TV. During early 2011 the
  operator expanded the variety of mobile TV with
  HD streaming on offer. In 2013 Orange Jordan
  launched its mobile travel app which allows
  subscribers to track their roaming bills and
  usage. This was followed by the launch of the My
  Orange app in 2014 that allows users to manage
  all account information and services and recharge
  accounts.
• Self management of accounts has also been
  addressed by Zain with the launch of its mobile
  app ZainJo, which allows subscribers to obtain
  account balances as well as content, service and
  promotional information.

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IoT and M2M networks

• There is emerging activity in the M2M sector in
  Israel. Cellcom, for example, branched into the
  nascent Machine-to Machine (M2M) services market,
  securing contracts as the M2M services provider
  for ITURAN, a vehicle tracking system provider
  better place, an electric vehicle charging
  station network Electric Company of Israels
  smart metering project and a number of
  photovoltaic energy projects.
• m-advertising
• There are a number of interesting mobile
  advertising start-ups emerging from Israel in
  recent years. Examples include StartApp,
  ClicksMob, InnerActive and Mobixell (acquired by
  Flash Networks in 2014).
• ClicksMob is an Israeli start-up that acts as a
  brokerage firm between mobile advertisers and the
  apps/publishers. Now operating out of San
  Francisco in the US, it has gained a lot of
  positive attention in recent times.
• StartApp is a mobile advertising platform that
  launched in 2010.
• InnerActive is a mobile ad exchange with
  headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices located in
  San Francisco, New York and London.
• Flash networks acquired Mobixell in 2014 in order
  to gain its technological expertise in mobile
  data management and rich media solutions.

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Other infrastructure developments

• In mid 2015 VIVA announced it was the first
  operator in Kuwait to launched Voice over Long
  Term Evolution (VoLTE) technology which would
  allow customers to use LTE networks for making
  calls including High Definition video calls.
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• IoT and M2M networks
• Interest in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) networks and
  the broader concept of the Internet of Everything
  (IoT) is beginning to emerge in Kuwait. One
  example includes the 2015 deal between Zain
  Kuwait and the Vodafone Group which sees their
  existing partnership extended to include M2M.
  While Zain already offers basic M2M services in
  parts of the Middle East, the new deal will allow
  Zain to offer end-to-end solutions for
  applications such as fleet management, smart
  metering and tracking assets.
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• Using Vodafones Global M2M platform, Zain Kuwait
  planned to start offering the enhanced M2M
  services initially to Kuwait businesses during
  the second half of 2015. Using Zains existing
  LTE network in Kuwait the service is then
  expected to be rolled out in Zains other
  operating areas.
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Mobile broadband statistics

• Mobile broadband has become a feasible
  proposition and viable alternative to fixed
  broadband in Kuwait following substantial
  investments in 3G/LTE technology. Mobile
  broadband services are accessible via USB plug in
  modems, standalone WiFi routers and
  Internet-enabled handsets and tablets.
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• All three mobile network operators offer mobile
  broadband services.
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• Zain offers its mobile broadband services to both
  the residential and business markets. Its
  residential market product is offered on both a
  postpaid and prepaid basis. Its prepaid offering
  is marketed as eeZee Connect. Its business market
  offering is comprised of three product types
  targeted towards the number mobile phone lines.
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•  ContactKen ResearchAnkur Gupta, Head
  Marketing CommunicationsAnkur_at_kenresearch.com
  91-9015378249
• Website www.kenresearch.com

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