Saudi Arabian mobile penetration set to reach 130%

NETANYA, Israel — Mobile penetration rates in Saudi Arabia are expected to rise 48 points to 130 percent in the coming five years, according to a recent report released by HSBC, which was cited by the Oxford Business Group.

The forecast builds from surging mobile phone subscriber rates over the past five years. Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), has estimated that the number of mobile users has swollen from 2.5 million people five years ago to 20 million people today. "In terms of mobile penetration, in the next five years we expect the Saudi market to catch up with other similar economies and to reach 130 percent," said the report. A reduction in handset prices and reducing tariffs as a result of the liberalization of the telecoms markets are expected to drive the penetration rates, according to the report. Over the last 10 years, liberalization of the sector has resulted in a transformed telecommunications landscape and the entrance of new players. The number of internet users in Saudi Arabia reached 4.7 million in 2007, compared to 2.5 million in 2005, according to another report, Internet World Stats. Meanwhile the average internet speed in the kingdom is 500-kbits per second, although operators are offering faster packages.

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