As of the end of the first quarter 2012, mobile operators in nineteen Arab countries had 367.5 million cellular lines, up from 362 million at yearend 2011, a growth of 1.5%, according to new report from Arab Advisors Group which analyzes and ranks cellular operators in the Arab World. The three cellular operators in Egypt; Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat were the largest Arab cellular operators in terms of subscriptions by end of March 2012.
Between December 2009 and August 2012, two new cellular operators and five MVNOs launched their operations in the Arab World. Moreover, one cellular operator stopped providing its services. With the advent of new operators and increased competition, cellular subscribers in nineteen Arab countries reached 367.5 million by end of March 2012. Egypt’s Vodafone Egypt, Mobinil and Etisalat Misr are the Arab World’s largest cellular operators by subscriptions.
The repor entitled, “A Scorecard of Key Performance Indicators of Cellular Operators in the Arab World” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Telecoms Strategic Research Service subscribers on October 11, 2012. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 1,500. The 44-page report, which contains 32 detailed exhibits, provides a comprehensive analysis of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the mobile operators in the Arab World. The KPIs are for the year 2011 and March 2012. The report covers 52 operators in nineteen countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen.
“Prepaid services dominate the Arab cellular markets. By end of March 2012, eighteen operators had prepaid subscriber bases of 90% or more. The Arab Advisors Group believes that the rapid growth in cellular line bases in the Arab World is clearly due to the increasing appeal of prepaid offers” Mr. Mohammed Al-Shawwa, Senior Research Analyst at Arab Advisors Group stated.
“The cellular market in the Arab World is well ahead of the fixed line market. By yearend 2011, the combined cellular penetration rate stood at 103.2%, compared to a fixed line combined penetration rate of 9.7% for the same period” Mr. Zaid Abawi, Research Analyst at Arab Advisors Group added.
The Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region has already produced over 3,120 reports on the Arab World’s communications, media and financial markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom).