The United Arab Emirates (UAE) possess the highest number of mobile phone users per capita in the Arab World, with its mobile network second in size only to Saudi Arabia, confirmed the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
The UAE had approximately 1.75 million mobile phone subscribers at the end of 2001, an average of nearly one mobile unit for every two people. Saudi Arabia had the largest number of mobile subscribers last year, totaling 2.31 million, however its phone per user ratio stood at only one per eight persons.
The UAE’s total GSM and public switched telephone network (PSTN) revenues are expected to grow from $1.6 billion in 2000 to more than $2.48 billion by year end 2006, projects a report from the Arab Advisors Group on the UAE communications market and Etisalat. While the nation’s partially privatized operator, Etisalat, remains the monopoly operator, the country’s penetration levels of services are quite impressive by all standards, 32 percent PSTN penetration, and 57.75 percent GSM penetration as of year end 2001. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
