Oman offers a diverse as well as highly competitive telecoms sector, with two full-network operators and three virtual network operators catering to a market of 4m people. Despite this, however, the sector has continued to expand on the back of rising subscriptions and increasing mobile penetration rates. Growing market maturity has led to operators looking to boost take-up of mobile internet...
The Middle East ICT
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Chapter | Telecoms & IT from The Report: Oman 2016
Oman’s long history of political stability coupled with its favorable international trade agreements and special economic zones has ensured strong growth in economic output and exports in recent years. The fall in global prices is undoubtedly a concern for the sultanate, but the sustained focus on diversification schemes, as well as the country’s ongoing spending commitments on big-ticket projects should ensure steady growth moving forward.
Chapter | Telecoms & IT from The Report: Jordan2015
Jordan’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector is one of the most developed and robust in the region, bolstered by 15 years of industry friendly policies and a young population of digital consumers. Mobile subscribership soared from 3.13m users, representing 57% penetration in 2005, to 11.1m users and 147% penetration at the end of 2014. The market has seen consumers shift...
Chapter | Telecoms & IT from The Report: Kuwait 2015
Access to the internet, especially via mobile devices, has accelerated rapidly in Kuwait since the government liberalised the telecoms and IT sector in the early 2000s. The nation now has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the region, at 69% of the population in 2014 after seeing 40% growth on the previous year. As one of the first GCC nations to embrace competition by allowing...
Chapter | Telecoms & IT from The Report: Saudi Arabia 2015
Competition in Saudi Arabia’s telecoms sector continues to grow, with companies continually seeking to invest in the infrastructure that will connect customers to a broader range of communications services. As the number of mobile internet users continues to rise, the Kingdom’s operators are seeing demand for traditional voice and text services become gradually displaced by data services and...
The accession of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2015 was the start of a new chapter for the Kingdom, and with the fall in global oil prices and continued regional turbulence there are undoubtedly challenges to be met. However, domestic stability, combined with the government’s commitment to major development projects and sustained focus on economic diversification, indicate a positive overall outlook for the country moving forward.