Kuwait - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Government support is integral to Kuwait’s telecom industry progress

Developments over the past year or so in Kuwait has demonstrated how a supportive government can pave the way for telecoms progress. The Kuwait government is making great headway in implementing changes which will improve the overall telecoms industry. One example includes the recent establishment of an independent telecoms regulator (CITRA) and the current project underway by the Ministry of Communications (MoC) which is expanding Kuwait’s fibre broadband infrastructure.

Kuwait has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world and while this has led to market saturation; the operators are combating this by building extensive LTE networks and developing mobile broadband content and services. The existence of this substantial mobile infrastructure also places Kuwait in good stead to take advantage of opportunities offered by the evolution to 5G.

While Kuwait’s fixed broadband penetration is currently one of the lowest in the region – this sector offers a potential future growth opportunity for both the operators and government. Improvements to the fixed broadband infrastructure will assist to grow markets such as e-commerce, along with smart infrastructure development, start-ups and M2M.

Overall the telecoms sector has become increasingly important to Kuwait’s economy as the country looks to diversify from its reliance on oil. While it already offers a mature mobile sector – opportunities exist to improve its lagging fixed broadband infrastructure as well as capitalise on growing the mobile broadband services and content sector.

This BuddeComm report analyses Kuwait’s extensive telecoms market and provides key industry statistics as well as information and insights relating to fixed and mobile infrastructure, subscribers, smart infrastructure, regulations and major players.

Key developments:

The three major operators of Zain Kuwait, VIVA and Ooredoo are all offering LTE services as well as exploring 5G opportunities.
Zain Kuwait launched initial integrated 5G services to selected areas in 2018.
There is a high ownership of smart phones in Kuwait.
Improvements to fibre-broadband infrastructure are underway.

Companies covered in this report include:

Mobile Telecommunications Co (MTC) / Zain, Ooredoo Kuwait, Kuwait Telecom Company (KTC) / Viva.

Table of Contents

Key statistics
Country overview
Telecommunications market

Overview
Market analysis
Recent developments

Regulatory environment

Historic overview
Regulatory authority
Privatisation
Infrastructure sharing
Interconnect

Fixed network operators

Ministry of Communications

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
Fibre networks
International infrastructure (satellite, submarine)

Submarine cable networks
Satellite communication

Smart infrastructure

IoT
Smart grids

Fixed broadband Market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
Broadband statistics

Digital economy (Examples only)

e-Commerce
Start-ups
e-Banking/e-Payments
e-Health

Digital Media (Examples only)

Video-streaming
Music-streaming
VoIP

Mobile Market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

General statistics
Mobile broadband

Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
GSM, 3G
Other infrastructure developments
Mobile voice/VoLTE

Mobile regulatory issues

Third mobile operator
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Roaming tariff reduction
Spectrum refarming for LTE
Mobile tower management

Major mobile operators

Zain Kuwait
Ooredoo Kuwait
Viva

Mobile content and applications

m-banking (payments/loans)
OTT messaging services

Mobile handsets

Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Kuwait – 2018
Table 2 – Kuwait – GDP and inflation – 2012 - 2019
Table 3 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity - 1995 – 2018
Table 4 – Kuwait - Internet users and penetration – 1995 – 2018
Table 5 – Kuwait - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration - 2006 - 2018
Table 6 – Historic – Kuwait - mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1995 – 2004
Table 7 – Kuwait - mobile subscribers and penetration – 2013 – 2019
Table 8 – Kuwait - mobile operators’ market share – 2005 – 2018
Table 9 – Kuwait - mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – 2018
Table 10 - Kuwait - mobile broadband subscriptions – 2014 – 2019
Table 11 - Zain Group subscribers and revenue – 2005 – 2018
Table 12 – Zain Kuwait revenue, net profit, ARPU and subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 13 – Zain Kuwait – prepaid share – 2005 – 2018
Table 14 – Ooredoo Kuwait financial data, subscribers, ARPU – 2016; Q3 2018
Table 15 - Viva revenue, net profit, EBITDA, and subscribers – 2012 – 2018

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Kuwait’s major mobile operators – market share – 2017
Chart 2 – Kuwait – mobile operators market share – 2018

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO)

Related Reports

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Licence Information

Focus Report Profile

Technologies

Broadband Fixed
Broadcasting
Companies (Major Players)
Internet
Mobile & Wireless Broadband and Media
Mobile Communications (voice and infrastructure)
Regulations & Government Policies
Strategies & Analyses (Industry & Markets)
Telecoms Infrastructure

Number of pages 59

Status Current

Last updated 8 Mar 2019
Update History

Analyst: Kylie Wansink

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