Saudi Arabia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 13 Aug 2020 Update History

Report Pages: 105

Analyst: Sebastien De Rosbo

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) capitalises on tower infrastructure

Saudi Arabia offers one of the most progressive telecoms markets in the Middle East and is well positioned to capitalise on the potential opportunities offered by 5G. Mobile penetration is considered high in and the market is heavily saturated, with a large number of mobile broadband users.

The mobile operators are competitive and comprise of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain KSA - as well as MVNOs. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has resulted in more workers, students and citizens being based at home and the telecoms operators are expecting more demand for their services. The operators have demonstrated a sense of social responsibility during the Covid-19 crisis by launching various initiatives to support society in terms of education, enterprise, and healthcare.

Recently the operators have been exploring ways to monetise the thousands of mobile towers spread throughout Saudi Arabia. In 2019 STC established a subsidiary to manage its tower infrastructure, called TAWAL.

5G is firmly on the agenda for Saudi Arabia with the regulator awarding new spectrum for 4G/5G use in early 2019. STC, Zain KSA and Mobily have all developed various 5G partnerships with solution providers like Huawei, Nokia, Cisco and Ericsson and the three operators have launched preliminary services.

While Saudi Arabia’s fixed broadband penetration is considered low on a global scale; there has been significant work towards developing fibre-based networks instead of DSL, which still comprise the largest market share.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains all around the world. During this time, the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device and ICT equipment production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to source necessary equipment or manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may also be postponed or slowed down in some countries. On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services is likely to be impacted by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. In contrast, the demand for mobile and broadband services is expected to rise, as more citizens will require online services for work, entertainment, education, tele-health and social purposes.

This valuable BuddeComm report provides analyses, information, industry statistics and insights into in Saudi Arabia’s progressive telecoms sector.

Recent developments:

Zain KSA extends 5G coverage to 35 cities;
Zain KSA and Mobily propose setting up a joint tower management company;
Competition to increase with two new MVNO licenses to be offered later in 2020;
Universal Services Licenses are awarded;
Infrastructure sharing agreement allows Zain KSA to utilise the fibre-based infrastructure of STC.
Saudi Arabia continues implementing strategies as part of its the Vision 2030 program;
Report update includes operator data to Q2 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Integrated Telecom Company (ITC), GO Telecom/Etihad Atheeb, Mobily/Etihad Etisalat/Bayanat Al-Oula, Zain KSA, Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, Arabsat.

Key statistics
Regional Middle East Market Comparison

Introduction
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Country overview

Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Global implications
Economic considerations and responses
Saudi Arabian implications

Telecommunications market

Market overview
Market analysis

Universal Licenses
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

Regulatory environment

Historic overview
Regulatory authority
Telecom sector liberalisation
Fixed-line developments

Licenses
Interconnect and access
Number Portability (NP)
Universal service

Mobile network developments

Licenses
Roaming
MTRs
Fingerprinting law
Spectrum

Mobile communications

Market overview

Historical overview

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

General statistics
Mobile voice
Mobile data

Mobile broadband statistics
Mobile infrastructure

Tower sharing
5G
4G (LTE, LTE-A)
3G
Satellite mobile

Major mobile operators

Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
Mobily (Etihad Etisalat)
Zain KSA

Mobile content and applications

M-banking and m-payments

Fixed-line broadband market

Market overview

Historical overview
Market analysis
Fixed broadband statistics

Fixed-line broadband technologies
Integrated Telecom Company (ITC)

Fixed network operators

Saudi Telecom Company (STC)

Telecommunications infrastructure

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

Terrestrial cable networks
Submarine cable networks
Satellite networks

Smart infrastructure

Data centres, cloud computing
Blockchain
Artificial Intelligence
Smart grids
Smart cities

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related Reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top-level country statistics and regulatory authorities – Saudi Arabia – 2020
Table 2 – Saudi Arabia – GDP and inflation – 2014 – 2020
Table 3 – Saudi Arabia – mobile, fixed-line and total telecoms revenue of service providers – 2010 – 2016
Table 4 – Saudi Arabia - mobile subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Table 5 – Saudi Arabia - major mobile operators’ market share – 2005 – 2018
Table 6 – Saudi Arabia – prepaid subscribers – 2002 – Q3 2018
Table 7 – Saudi Arabia – active mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration – 2010 – 2024
Table 8 – Change in the number of Mobily’s mobile subscribers – 2006 – 2017
Table 9 – Development of Mobily’s financial data – 2010 – 2020
Table 10 – Development of Zain KSA’s financial data – 2014 – 2020
Table 11 – Development of Zain KSA’s mobile ARPU – 2014 – 2020
Table 12 – Change in the number of Zain KSA’s mobile subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Table 13 – Saudi Arabia - fixed broadband subscribers – 2009 - 2024
Table 14 – Saudi Arabia - fixed broadband subscriptions – technologies and penetration – 2010 – Q3 2018
Table 15 – Development of STC Group’s revenue and profit – 2010 – 2020
Table 16 – Saudi Arabia – fixed-lines in service and teledensity – 2010 – 2020
Table 17 – Saudi Arabia – International Internet bandwidth – 2010 – 2018
Table 18 – Historic - Saudi Arabia - fixed lines in service - 1995 – 2009
Table 19 – Historic - Saudi Arabia – mobile, fixed-line and total telecoms revenue of service providers – 2001 – 2009
Table 20 –Historic - mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1995 – 2008
Table 21 – Historic - Mobily revenue – 2006 – 2009
Table 22 – Historic - STC Group revenue and profit – 2005 – 2009

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Middle East – mobile subscriber and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 2 – Middle East – fixed and mobile broadband subscriber penetration
Chart 3 – Saudi Arabia – mobile subscriptions and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Chart 4 – Saudi Arabia – major mobile operators market share - 2018
Chart 5 – Saudi Arabia – mobile subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Chart 6 – Development of Mobily’s financial data – 2010 – 2020
Chart 7 – Development of Zain KSA’s financial data – 2014 – 2020
Chart 8 – Change in the number of Zain KSA’s mobile subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Chart 9 – Development of STC Group’s revenue and profit – 2010 – 2020

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Historical – Bravo acquisition
Exhibit 2 – Submarine cables in-service in Saudi Arabia
Exhibit 3 – 2Africa submarine cable
Exhibit 4 – 2Africa landing stations

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Saudi Arabia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

USD 750.00

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) capitalises on tower infrastructure

Recent developments:

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Key statistics

Regional Middle East Market Comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile communications

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related Reports

Purchase this Report

USD 750.00

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

Research Methodology

Sample Reports

Research

Hot Topics

News & Views