MENA Market Special 2018 MENA MARKET SPECIAL 2018 | Page 4

A
Study: MENA operators early
5G adopters
ccording to mobile telecoms industry
trade body the GSMA, operators in
the Middle East and North African
(MENA) region will be amongst the first in the
world to launch commercial 5G networks.
The GSMA’s report, The Mobile Economy:
Middle East and North Africa 2017, forecasts
that there will be more than 50 million 5G
connections across the MENA region by 2025,
with 5G networks covering approximately 30%
of the region’s population by that point. The
report also highlights how mobile broadband
(3G/4G) networks account for about half of
total mobile connections in the MENA region
today and are forecast to increase to 70% of
the total by the end of the decade.
“With rising mobile broadband adoption,
growing subscriber numbers and increasing
smartphone use, mobile is having an
incredible impact across this diverse region,
ushering in an era of innovative tech start-ups
and new mobile services, as well as helping to
connect the unconnected,” said Mats Granryd,
Director General, GSMA. “At the same time,
we urge operators to continue investment
in 4G networks to ensure future growth and
encourage governments to set policies that
promote technological, social and economic
progress to create a society where all citizens
can benefit from mobile technology.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states
will be amongst the first in the world to launch
commercial 5G networks. Both Etisalat and
Ooredoo are already undertaking live 5G
trials on speed, equipment, latency and beam
steering, with commercial launches expected
in 2020. The early launches are expected to be
based on 3GPP Release 15 and be deployed in
dense urban areas as mobile operators look to
offer increased performance and supplement
existing mobile broadband capacity. Further
enhancements will be made with 3GPP Release
16, including the development of massive IoT
and critical communication services.
There were 365 million unique subscribers
across the region at the end of 2016,
accounting for 63% of the population, which
is expected to rise to 399 million or 65% by
2020. However, subscriber growth continues
to trail the global average due to the diversity
of the region, with the more advanced
markets approaching saturation and the less
developed markets facing the challenge of
growing penetration. As a result, subscriber
MOBILE ECONOMY
MENA
SIM connections
Unique
mobile
subscribers
2016
360 million
399 million
2.6% CAGR 2016–20
2020
Mobile
contributing
to economic
and social
development
across the
region
PENETRATION
RATE
65%
2016
639 million 112%
2.7% CAGR 2016–20 PENETRATION
RATE*
2020
712 million
Mobile broadband
connections to increase from
50% of total in 2016 to
Data growth
driving
revenues
and operator
investments
Delivering digital inclusion to the still
unconnected populations.
MOBILE INTERNET PENETRATION
38%
2016
2020
48%
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Delivering financial inclusion to the unbanked
populations. As of December 2016 there were
24 live mobile money
services in 9 countries
INNOVATION
31 million by 2020
Mobile
2016
industry
contribution
2020
to GDP
116%
By 2020, there will be
69% 463m
by 2020
smartphones – growth of
167 million from the end of 2016
Public funding
$165bn
$194bn
4.2%
GDP
4.3%
GDP
Employment
Mobile ecosystem contribution
to public funding (before regulatory
and spectrum fees)
Operator total revenues
2016
$69 billion
$74 billion
1.8% CAGR 2016–20
2020
Operator CAPEX of up to $50 billion for the period 2017–20
4 ADVANCED TELEVISION
DIGITAL INCLUSION
Delivering innovative new services and apps.
Number of M2M connections to reach
63%
*Excluding M2M
Accelerating
moves to mobile
broadband
networks and
smartphone
adoption
penetration will reach only 65% by 2020,
below the global average of 72%. Smartphone
adoption is expected to increase to an
estimated 463 million by 2020, representing
g