ICT Indicators Report

Q3 - 2013

November, 2013

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Page 1 of 5

The ICT Sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1. Mobile Telecommunications Market The total number of mobile subscriptions reached around 51 million by

the end of Q3 2013, with penetration rate of 170%. Prepaid

subscriptions constitute the majority (over 84%) of all mobile

subscriptions. There was a decline in the number of subscriptions, and

thus the penetration rate, that can be attributed to :

the implementation of CITC's decision on regulating the sale and

activation of pre-paid SIM cards, which led service providers to

deactivate a large number of unidentified SIM cards.

CITC decision to stop free international roaming which resulted in

cancelation of large number of SIM-cards which were exported

outside the Kingdom.

crack down on foreigners working illegally in the Kingdom Which led

to the cancellation of a large number of prepaid SIM cards

Figure (1): Mobile Service Market Growth-Total Subscriptions (2001 – Q3 2013)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q3 2013

2.5 2.9 3.4 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.8 5.5 6.1 6.3 6.6 7.3 8 0.0 2.1 3.8 4.9 9.5

15.1

23.6 30.5

38.7 45.3 47.1 45.7 44

12% 23% 32%

40% 60%

81%

113%

138%

167%

186% 188% 181.6% 170.0%

2.5 5.0 7.2

9.2 14.2

19.7

28.4

36.0

44.8

51.6 53.7 53 51

Sub

scrp

tio

ns

(Mill

ion

s)

Post-paid Subscriptions Pre-paid Subscriptions

Mobile Penetration (%) Total Subscriptions

Page 2 of 5

2. Fixed Telephony Market

Fixed telephone lines reached 4.7 million by the end of Q3 2013,

of which around 3.3 million or about 70% were residential lines. This

represents a household teledensity of around 65.6%, while the

population teledensity is about 16%.

Figure (2): Fixed Telephone Market Evolution (2001 – Q3 2013)

Note: Population teledensity is calculated by dividing total fixed telephone lines by population, while

household teledensity is calculated by dividing residential lines by number of households.

3. Broadband Market

3.1 Fixed Broadband Services:

Fixed Broadband subscriptions including the DSL, Fixed Wireless

(WiMax), FTTx and other fixed lines have grown to around 2.82 million

subscriptions at the end of Q3 2013. The Fixed Broadband penetration

rate was about 44.3% of the households.

0

1

2

3

4

5

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q3 2013

2.1

3.0 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.3 1.2

1.1 1.17 1.03 1.3

1.4 1.43

56.3% 59.0%

65.1% 66.7%

69.3% 67.6% 65.6%

15.2% 15.8% 15.5% 15.0% 16.2% 16.4% 16.1%

Te

lep

ho

ne

Lin

es (

Mil

lio

ns

)

Residential Lines Business Lines

Household Teledensity (%) Population Teledensity (%)

Page 3 of 5

Figure (3): Fixed Broadband Market Evolution (2004 – Q3 2013)

3.2 Mobile Broadband Services:

The total number of mobile broadband subscriptions reached 14.4

million by the end of Q3 2013, representing a population penetration

rate of 48.5%. The mobile broadband market continues to gain

momentum in the Kingdom. The key reasons for this growth are the

strong competition, the healthy expansion of smart phones, and the

offering of various data packages by mobile operators. It has become

easier to access the internet via mobile devices such as smart phones.

The mobile networks are also improving, as the 3.5G (HSPA) continues to

be deployed and as wireless broadband technologies (4G) emerge over

the next few years.

0.6

0

1.0

0

1.3

0

1.4

9

1.5

6

1.8

7

1.8

6

0.2 0.3

0.55 0.73

0.03 0.06 0.22

0.62

1.04

1.44

1.74 1.95

2.54

2.82

17%

24%

27% 33%

40.8% 44.3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q3 2013

Pe

netr

ati

on

(%

)

Su

bsc

rip

tio

ns

(M

illi

on

)

Leased lines + FTTx ADSL Subscriptions

Fixed Wireless Subscriptions Total Fixed Broadband Subscriptions

Households Penetration (%)

Page 4 of 5

Figure (4): Mobile Broadband Market Evolution (2007 – Q3 2013)

Note: The figures were adjusted based on an audit and analysis of inputs and application of methodology

for calculating the numbers.

4. Internet Services Market

The estimated number of Internet users in the Kingdom is 16.4

million users at the end of Q3 2013, with a population penetration of

55%. It is expected that the demand for Internet services will increase

significantly in the next few years due to the availability of fiber-optic

networks (FTTx) at very high speeds, initially in large cities, growing

Internet content, and the spread of handheld smart devices and

applications.

1.31 2.70

4.28 4.22 4.96

7.06 8.06

9.47

0.2% 1.1% 4.9%

9.7%

39.6% 42.1%

48.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q3 2013

Pe

netr

ati

on

(%

)

Su

bs

cri

pti

on

s (

Mil

lio

n)

Standard Mobile Subscriptions Dedicated Mobile Data Subscriptions

Total Mobile Broadband Subscriptions Mobile BB Telednsity (of populations)

Page 5 of 5

Figure (5): Internet Market Evolution (2001 – Q3 2013)

Notes: 2001-2006: CITC estimates based on reported Internet connections (dial-up and broadband). 2007-2009: Actual based on field surveys of the Internet market commissioned by CITC. 2010 –Q3 2013: CITC estimate (projection) based on field surveys.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Q3 2013

1.0 1.4 1.8 2.4 3.0

4.8

7.6

9.3

10.3

11.4

13.6

15.8 16.4

5% 6% 8%

10% 13%

20%

30%

36% 38%

41%

47.5%

54.1% 55.0%

Internet Penetration (%)

Internet Users (Million)