Monday, 24 Octorber 2011

Mobile networks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are expected to switch from subscriber growth to revenue growth over the next few years as their markets reach subscriber saturation.

In higher-income countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the mobile penetration rate already exceeds 100% of the population, and will surpass 100% in lower-income countries such as Egypt in 2012 and Morocco in 2011, according to the latest forecasts from Analysys Mason.

Due to the scarcity of landline services outside the main urban areas, mobile based broadband services are particularly important for internet access. Furthermore, because of low PC penetration in all but the highest-income countries, most users in MENA access the Internet on their mobile handsets -- particularly in lower-income countries.

Analysys Mason is forecasting that the number of 3G connections will grow from 70 million in 2010 to 363 million in 2016, which will represent 84% of all mobile connections (up from 18% in 2010).

Despite the emphasis on mobile data, mobile voice will continue to account for the majority of revenue in 2016, although its CAGR will be relatively slow at 3%.