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Cambridge, Massachusetts - December 7, 2010 - As the mobile market heats up, Saudi operators are looking to convergence in search of a competitive edge, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).
Saudi Arabia: Mobile Competition Heats Up offers a precise profile of the country’s telecommunications, media, and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid’s research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services, and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.
Download an excerpt of this report here.
Purchase the report here.
Thanks to the regulator’s consistent effort and determination to promote competition and development in the telecom sector, a market that was a monopoly in early 2005 now has four active players in the mobile sector and three licensees in the fixed sector. “Pyramid expects the market to grow from $11.3 billion in 2009 to $14.3 billion in 2015, fueled mostly by growth in mobile data as all three GSM operators have launched 3G services,” says Hussam Barhoush, Senior Analyst at Pyramid.
“The next five years will see further price cuts on mobile voice services due to additional competition, but these cuts will be largely compensated for by a dramatic rise in mobile data usage. We are projecting mobile data to grow at a 2010-2015 CAGR of 17 percent, to reach $2.9 billion in 2015,” notes Barhoush. “We expect the number of mobile subscriptions to grow at a CAGR of 4 percent, from about 42.5 million forecast in 2010 to more than 51.8 million in 2015. However, Saudi Arabia’s comparatively low user penetration rate – only 77 percent in 2009, placed in contrast to its subscription penetration of 146 percent – further demonstrates the market’s potential for more growth,” he adds.
In 2009, 42 percent of handsets in Saudi Arabia were 3G-enabled, and we expect that share to reach 79 percent by 2015. “We expect the introduction of 4G in 2011, as all three GSM players conducted LTE trials in 2009 and 2010. Due to the popularity of mobile broadband, we expect all three mobile operators to roll out LTE networks in the long term and for adoption to be comparatively rapid,” indicates Barhoush.
To help differentiate themselves, operators are looking toward convergence to give them an edge. “The two biggest operators, STC and Mobily, already have networks and licenses permitting them to offer both fixed and mobile services and are looking to convergence, both as a cost-saving mechanism and as a way to gain a competitive edge,” notes Barhoush.
Saudi Arabia: Mobile Competition Heats Up is part of Pyramid Research's Africa/Middle East Country Intelligence Report Series and is priced at $990. Download the excerpt here. It can be purchased online here or by emailing us at info@pyr.com.
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About Pyramid Research
Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com) offers practical solutions to the complex demands our clients face in the telecommunications, media and technology industries. Our analysis is uniquely positioned at the intersection of emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models, powered by the bottom-up methodology of our market forecasts for over 100 countries – a distinction that has remained unmatched for more than 25 years. As the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network, Pyramid Research works with Heavy Reading, providing the communications industry's most comprehensive market data, trusted research and insightful technology analysis.
About Light Reading
Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and event focused company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technological and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading’s research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, and TelcoTV Asia, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Europe, and The Tower Summit @ CTIA, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives in the US, Europe, India, and China. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.
About UBM TechWeb
UBM TechWeb (http://www.ubmtechweb.com/), the global leader in technology media and business information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its core businesses - media solutions, marketing services, and professional information - UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications, and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web and digital professionals, software and game developers, government decision makers, telecom providers and business executives) actively participate in UBM TechWeb’s communities. UBM TechWeb brands include: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat, and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology. UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.
Press Contact:
Jennifer Baker
Pyramid Research
+1 617-871-1910
jbaker@pyr.com
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