Saudi Arabia offers one of the most progressive telecoms markets in the Middle East and is well positioned to capitalise on the potential opportunities offered by 5G. Mobile penetration is considered high in and the market is heavily saturated, with a large number of mobile broadband users.
The mobile operators are competitive and comprise of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain KSA - as well as MVNOs. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has resulted in more workers, students and citizens being based at home and the telecoms operators are expecting more demand for their services. The operators have demonstrated a sense of social responsibility during the Covid-19 crisis by launching various initiatives to support society in terms of education, enterprise, and healthcare.
Recently the operators have been exploring ways to monetise the thousands of mobile towers spread throughout Saudi Arabia. In 2019 STC established a subsidiary to manage its tower infrastructure, called TAWAL.
5G is firmly on the agenda for Saudi Arabia with the regulator awarding new spectrum for 4G/5G use in early 2019. STC, Zain KSA and Mobily have all developed various 5G partnerships with solution providers like Huawei, Nokia, Cisco and Ericsson and the three operators have launched preliminary services.
While Saudi Arabia’s fixed broadband penetration is considered low on a global scale; there has been significant work towards developing fibre-based networks instead of DSL, which still comprise the largest market share.
BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains all around the world. During this time, the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device and ICT equipment production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to source necessary equipment or manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may also be postponed or slowed down in some countries. On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services is likely to be impacted by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. In contrast, the demand for mobile and broadband services is expected to rise, as more citizens will require online services for work, entertainment, education, tele-health and social purposes.
This valuable BuddeComm report provides analyses, information, industry statistics and insights into in Saudi Arabia’s progressive telecoms sector.
Kylie Wansink, BuddeComm, 2020.
Recent developments:
Competition will increase further with two new MVNO licenses offered for tender by the Regulator in 2020.
In mid-2019 both STC and Zain KSA launched their first 5G networks.
Zain KSA announced in late 2019 that it was going to offer commercial 5G network roaming services between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Universal Services Licenses have been awarded in Saudi Arabia.
An infrastructure sharing agreement was established in 2019; allowing Zain KSA to utilise the fibre-based infrastructure of Saudi Telecom Company (STC).
Saudi Arabia is implementing strategies as part of its the Vision 2030 program.
Companies mentioned in thi report include:
Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Integrated Telecom Company (ITC), GO Telecom/Etihad Atheeb, Mobily/Etihad Etisalat/Bayanat Al-Oula, Zain KSA, Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, Arabsat.
Key statistics
Country overview
Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Global implications
Economic considerations and responses
Saudi Arabian implications
Regional Middle East Market Comparison
Introduction
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Telecommunications market
Market overview
Market analysis
Universal Licenses
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
Regulatory environment
Historic overview
Regulatory authority
Telecom sector liberalisation
Fixed-line developments
Licenses
Interconnect and access
Number Portability (NP)
Universal service
Mobile network developments
Licenses
Roaming
MTRs
Fingerprinting law
Spectrum
Mobile communications
Market overview
Historical overview
Market analysis
Mobile statistics
General statistics
Mobile voice
Mobile data
Mobile broadband statistics
Mobile infrastructure
Tower sharing
5G
4G (LTE, LTE-A)
3G
Satellite mobile
Major mobile operators
Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
Mobily (Etihad Etisalat)
Zain KSA
Mobile content and applications
M-banking and m-payments
Fixed-line broadband market
Market overview
Historical overview
Market analysis
Fixed broadband statistics
Fixed-line broadband technologies
Integrated Telecom Company (ITC)
Fixed network operators
Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
Telecommunications infrastructure
Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure (satellite, submarine)
Terrestrial cable networks
Submarine cable networks
Satellite networks
Smart infrastructure
Data centres, cloud computing
Blockchain
Artificial Intelligence
Smart grids
Smart cities
Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related Reports
List of Tables
Table 1 – Top-level country statistics and regulatory authorities – Saudi Arabia – 2020
Table 2 – Saudi Arabia – GDP and inflation – 2014 – 2020
Table 3 – Saudi Arabia – mobile, fixed-line and total telecoms revenue of service providers – 2010 – 2016
Table 4 – Saudi Arabia - mobile subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Table 5 – Saudi Arabia - major mobile operators’ market share – 2005 – 2018