406 million Cellular lines in the Arab World

Amman, Jordan, February 12, 2015--Mobile operators in nineteen Arab countries had 406.3 million cellular lines at end of the 1st quarter 2014, up from 401 million at yearend 2013, a growth of 1.3%. In 2013 the cellular lines base had grown by a healthier 9.1%. A new report from Arab Advisors Group 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 2014.

Between August 2012 and September 2014, three MVNO launched its operations, while three other MVNOs ceased operations in the Arab World. Cellular subscribers in nineteen Arab countries reached 406.3 million by end of March 2014. Egypt’s Vodafone Egypt, Mobinil and Etisalat Misr are the Arab World’s largest cellular operators by cellular lines.

A new report, “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 December 4, 2014. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 1,875. The 43-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 2013 and March 2014. The report covers 49 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 2014, fifteen 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” Ms. Mai Al-Zeir, Senior Research Analyst at Arab Advisors Group stated.

“The cellular market in the Arab World is well ahead of the fixed line market. The aggregate cellular penetration rate exceeded the 110% mark, compared to a fixed line combined penetration rate of less than 9%” Ms. Mai Al-Zeir, Senior Research Analyst at Arab Advisors Group added.