The emergence of 3G technology over the past few years has helped drive the boom in data services adoption and usage globally, but operator 3G networks are becoming strained in some countries because of the frequency and volume of usage by end users. We believe that the emergence of LTE technology and its adoption on a large scale will not only help ease the jams and congestion currently seen but will also help expand data services and speeds, as well as improve the quality of service offered by operators. LTE’s simple design, speed, power and efficiency are some of the tremendous advantages over 3G technology.
The Middle East could potentially become an LTE powerhouse in the short to medium term. In nine countries — Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates — we have seen great interest in LTE technology, ranging from full-blown rollouts to trial demonstrations. This is because these countries already enjoy high levels of mobile phone penetration and most have a base of users with high levels of disposable income and a passion for the latest and greatest technology.
As a result of LTE activity, we project that there will be 18.3m LTE subscriptions in these countries (excluding figures for Kuwait) by 2016.
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