The UAE has the lowest cellular rates in the Arab World, while Libya and Lebanon have the highest rates.

March 17, 2005

New research and analysis from the Arab Advisors Group reveals that Libya has the most expensive cellular connection fees in the Arab World and the highest postpaid minute rates. Lebanon has the highest average prepaid minute rates. The UAE lies on the other extreme with the most affordable average minute rates in the region. While Yemen shares the lowest prices with UAE for average postpaid minute rates.

The Arab Advisors Group has analyzed the cellular rates in the 18 Arab countries of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. These countries have 34 operational cellular operators and 4 licensed ones expected to start operations soon. In order to allow for comparisons, the report focuses on the average cellular rates of these countries’ thirty-four cellular providers.

Commenting on the results, Jawad Abbassi, Arab Advisors Founder and President said: “It is a bit of a paradox that the lowest average rates are in the monopoly market of the UAE. This indicates a savvy marketing approach of the operator there, which consistently provides good value in order to secure its position in its home market. Still, the story across the region is of falling rates and prices. This underlines the need for all operators to concentrate on non-voice services and traffic in order to enhance and maintain their revenue levels while also providing better value for money for the end users.”

A new report, “Cellular Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Telecom Strategic Research Service subscribers on March 17, 2005. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 950. The 29-pages report, which has 18 detailed exhibits, provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the prevailing cellular rates in the 18 countries and 34 cellular operators covered.

Any investment in this report will count towards an annual Strategic Research Service subscription should the service be acquired within three months from purchasing the report.

The investment can also count towards attending Arab Advisors’ second annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 11 & 12 2005. More information on the conference can be seen at http://www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/schedule.htm. Alternatively contact the Arab Advisors Group for full information on the conference, agenda and sponsorship opportunities.

“The fixed markets in the Arab countries are still dominated by monopoly operators, although liberalization has already begun taking place in such countries as Bahrain and Jordan. The mobile market in the region has sped ahead of the PSTN market in the past couple of years. Clearly, developments in the cellular sector have a profound effect on the total communications markets in the countries.” Mr. Yaman Al Jundi, Arab Advisors research analyst wrote in the report.

The analysis revealed that for postpaid simple average minute rates (peak and off-peak), Libya has the highest rates at followed by Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia & Iraq, Palestine & Algeria, Jordan & Qatar, Sudan & Syria, Bahrain & Egypt & Kuwait, and finally Yemen & UAE. The average postpaid minute rate in the Arab World was calculated to be US$ 0.11. The highest was US$ 0.22 while the lowest was US$ 0.06

As for prepaid simple average minute rates (peak and off-peak), Lebanon has the highest rate, followed by Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar & Libya & Algeria, Syria & Jordan, Tunisia, Oman & Kuwait, Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain & Yemen, and Sudan. The lowest average minute rate was in the UAE. The average prepaid minute rate in the Arab World was calculated to be US$ 0.19. The range of average rates went from as low US$ 0.06 to as high as US$ 0.44

The Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region has already produced close to 330 reports on the Arab World’s communications and media markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom). To date, Arab Advisors Group has served more than 210 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients.