12


But in some countries, LTE is but a pipe dream, and 3G even falls well short of expectations and demand.


During the roll-out, 4G coverage will be pro- vided as an option in a growing number of areas in Qatar, starting with highly populated urban areas such as Doha and expanding across the country. Qtel will work with a number of leading vendors to ensure that devices capable of using 4G technology are available for the people of Qatar at afford- able prices. To support the service, Qtel explained


that it will offer wifi offloading, so that cus- tomers using wireless internet will be able to switch seamlessly to wifi hotspots during periods of peak demand. In addition, the company is already


working with businesses and educational institutions to ensure that all sectors of the community are able to benefit from the enhanced speed and reliability of LTE technology, as part of the Broadband Qatar strategy. The operator’s independ- ent research shows that mobile broadband roll-outs can make a direct impact to gross domestic product (GDP) and to exam results for school children and students. While it may be early days for LTE in the


Middle East, the service is expected to gain traction in Saudi, UAE and Qatar, in particular. “We expect LTE adoption in the region


to reach 6.1 per cent of all mobile subscrip- tions by 2014, due to strong growth of de- mand for data services, the region’s existing reliance on mobile rather than fixed access


technologies and the increasingly competi- tive approaches of the telecom regulators,” states Kerem Arsal, research analyst at Pyramid Research. “Among the region’s LTE pioneers—spe-


cifically Saudi Arabia and UAE—we project LTE adoption to reach 11.1 per cent of all subscriptions by 2014, which surpasses our forecast of a 7.7 per cent LTE adoption rate in Western Europe,” Arsal adds. According to Informa Telecoms and Me-


dia’s Ismail Patel, the measure of success for LTE will lie not in how well it performs against neighbouring markets or regional operators but in its ability to live up to its high expectations in the context of each specific market. “Customer experience and service take-


up, net growth and potential to drive down prices, competition—if any—with fixed networks, and the ability to overcome local obstacles and economic challenges. And that is why the PR battle in Saudi Arabia is nothing but verbal gymnastics that has little worth in the bigger scheme of things,” he explains. Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that


LTE subscriptions will exceed 14 million by 2016 in the Middle East. The service is expected to be a success in the GCC countries, given their relatively wealthy populations and appetite for the newest and most innovative products. However, there is a huge gulf between the leading economies


and those countries that are less affluent. The outlook for LTE is a lot starker


elsewhere in the Middle East. Even by 2015, most of the markets in the region, such as Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, still do not anticipate seeing LTE services, Iran is the largest market in the region in


terms of total mobile broadband subscrip- tions. However, subscription growth for mobile broadband in the country fell in 2Q11, due to limited promotional activ- ity and the inconsistency of 3G services. There are no expectations that LTE ser- vices will be launched within the next five years, and it is a similar story elsewhere in the region. Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghani- stan and Palestine are each still awaiting the launch of 3G services from their opera- tors, indicating that there is a long way to go for LTE in the Middle East, outside of the GCC. As Mai Barakat, telecoms analyst at Infor-


ma Telecoms and Media, explains: “Some Middle Eastern operators are focusing on LTE because they have started to realise that they need to move away from basic price promotions as the market experiences a demographic shift toward younger people, who want higher mobile broadband speeds and more-relevant non-SMS-based VAS. “But in some countries, LTE is but a


pipe dream, and 3G even falls well short of expectations and demand.” ■


Middle East Market Review | November 2011


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24