MyAdhan Blog

Link:Middle East Mobile Subscriber Base 2008 to 2011

Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid growth in mobile subscriptions in recent months, a recent report revealed. The subscriber base currently stands at 27 million, with penetration 109 per cent, according to a report by EFG-Hermes, a leading Arab investment bank. Analysts say mobile penetration is currently ten per cent higher than forecast, and subscribers will reach 33.4 million this year, implying a penetration rate of 131 per cent, up from 113 per cent in previous forecasts. “We believe the growth surprised on the upside as incumbents STC and Mobily ramped up their efforts to sign up more subscribers before the entry of the third operator, in addition to the decline in prepaid tariff levels to 0.55 Saudi riyal [a drop of a minimum 15 per cent],” a telecom analyst from EFG- Hermes told Gulf News in an e-mailed statement. Saudi mobile penetration of 2007 was above the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) average of 84 per cent but lower than that of Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. Experts foresee that the entry of a third operator, Zain Saudi, “will stir up competition and push the penetration rate above estimated addressable market size for its first two years”. Expected to start operations in July 2008, the new operator is forecast to have 1.3 million subscribers at the end of 2008.