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Analysing the present scenario of mass migration, the report explains that the number of 3G mobile subscribers will reach 2.4 million by 2012

Strengths of UAE market- With its rapidly evolving ICT infrastructure, the UAE is considered a regional hub for ICT in the Middle East and North Africa - Immense support from the UAE Government, including tax holidays for software companies, the easing of export and import regulations and training programmes are an added advantage- Extending infrastructure, attractive zones and technology parks such as Dubai internet City, Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village- Higher level of mobile penetration than other Middle East countries - The UAE remains ahead among the Arab nations in embracing newer ICT technologies, such as 3G, WiMax and mobile TV

The UAE has been slow to reform its telecom industry – clear evidence of this is that etisalat still accounts for more than 80 per cent of the market - The high cost of PCs and internet access has hindered the potential growth of the internet market- Piracy levels remain high

he number of 3G subscribers in the UAE at the end of this year is expected to be 6.99 million compared to 6.31 million subscribers in GSM (2G). The number of 3G subscribers in the UAE at the end of last year is expected to be 4.31 million compared to 8.36 million subscribers in GSM.

3G technology has helped drive the boom in data services adoption over the past few years, but operator 3G networks are becoming strained due to the frequency and volume of usage by end users

the surge in use of mobile broadband has been attributed to the proliferation of smartphones and smart devices, along with the increasing use of social networking and blogging tools, amongst others.

The study further points out that at the end of 2010, there were around 10.9 million mobile phone subscribers in UAE, giving the market penetration rate of 231%. The mobile phone handset penetration is estimated to grow from 238% in 2011 to 257% in 2015 while sales revenue of personal digital assistance (PDA) and smartphones is projected to surge by 139% during the same period.

The number of mobile subscribers in the UAE is likely to increase by 16.6% from the anticipated subscribers of 11.4 million in 2011 to 13.3 million by 2015

He said service tariffs have remained relatively stable in the UAE, and both operators have resorted to strategies such as service bundling and sachet-based tariff models to stimulate usage and thereby earn higher revenue.

The UAE had 199.3 mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants and 31 fixed lines per 100 inhabitants as of last December

TRA in its endeavour to stimulate competition as demonstrated by its efforts to introduce mobile number portability and to open up the fixed-line services market.

New growth will come in value-added services," Craven said. "Anything that isn't a basic core service or SMS." One of those new money-making services for UAE providers is mobile TV broadcasting which can stream live feeds of popular programmes to handheld devices configured to enable owners to watch their favourite shows.

The 3G forecast is based on an estimate of 1.52 million by the end of 2009 (equivalent to 14.2 per cent of the total mobile user base).

Based on our forecast for the mobile market as a whole, we envisage that 3G customers will account for around 20 per cent of the mobile market [by] the end of 2014

t did not give du the approval to launch the fourth generation services in the UAE, and that du had not yet applied for the licence to provide such services in the UAE

Market liberalization, increased competition and the introduction of new network technolog

As the wave of sector liberalization continues, telecom operators are facing increasing competitive pressure. On one hand, the market for traditional telephony, whether fixed or mobile, is so saturated that it can no longer be a viable exclusive source of growth.

However, greater availability of and demand for digital content, a growing youth market and the increase in prosperity in the region are also significant drivers behind the observed boost in demand for broadband

I am delighted to note that our strategies have created an abundance of high quality national talent, who are now capable of assuming senior leadership roles within the corporation

While affirming the UAE telco's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'A+' with a stable outlook, Fitch said the major concern facing the company was "increasing competition in the UAE market".

roadband by successfully testing speeds of up to 300 megabits per second (Mbps) on its Fourth Generation, Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) network about a week ago and the service provider now aims to fully cover the nation’s populated areas on this network within the next two to three years, a top-ranking Etisalat official said on Sunday.

This is doubling the speed of 150 Mbps, we currently have on our 4G network and it is going to be demonstrated during Gitex

By 2015, we are aiming to have more than 99 per cent population coverage on the 4G LTE, similar to that of 3G levels

4G service fast enough to download a movie in just two and a half minutes,

UAE telecommunications firm plans to charge subscribers Dh555 (US$151) a month for the speedy mobile-data service, which is currently available through a USB modem.

which offers speeds of 100 megabits per second

Fixed broadband services are well developed with fibre representing over a third of all fixed broadband subscriptions. Both Etisalat and du have deployed FttX networks to connect almost all households. In coming years subscribers can expect faster speeds as over three quarters of fixed home broadband subscriptions are on 8Mb/s or less.Widely accessible Internet access has fostered development of the digital economy, encompassing e-commerce, e-government, e-health and e-learning. The UAE has also taken the initiative in implementing smart cities infrastructure, deploying smart grid technology and launching an ambitious plan to develop Masdar City, a new zero carbon, zero waste city powered entirely by renewable energy sources.Despite widespread availability of satellite TV both Etisalat and du are using their fibre networks to market broadband TV (IPTV) services, with subscriber numbers steadily increasing from a small base. Faster broadband speeds are also supporting nascent web based Video-on-Demand (VoD) platforms.

is has been deferred for almost two and-a-half years now, just as the introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

The Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE had said that the network sharing service would be implemented by end of 2011, but both etisalat and du were technically not ready to launch the service.

$6.9 billion in service revenues

the size of the UAE population. The new figure is 8 million, compared with the 5.5 million people used previously.

Du said in May it is looking at mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, opportunities to expand its footprint for the first time outside its home market. Abu Dhabi-based etisalat meanwhile already operates in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Nigeria amongst other countries.

March amounted to 12.4 million, up from 11 million in the same period a year ago.

With an estimated 12mn mobile subscribers and 1.26mn fixed lines at the end of 2011

However, while there is active competition among the operators in the mobile segment, the fixed-line business is segmented in such a way that Du mainly caters to newer developments in Dubai (e.g. Downtown and JLT), while Etisalat serves the remainder of the country. However, the regulator and both telecom operators are currently in process of implementing network sharing, whereby customers will have open choice between the two operators for fixed-line services as well. Additionally, mobile number portability (MNP) is also currently under review in the UAE, which could further add to competition in the country.

These areas include Dubai Marina, JLT, Downtown, DIFC, Tecom, Dubai Media City, Palm Jumeirah, The Greens, Emirates Hills and Arabian Ranches among others. Consequently, Etisalat and Du have not been competing for fixed telephone and broadband services in the UAE and the landscape remains a non-overlapping duopoly.

increased 10.5% to over 1.3 million, showed the figures. The percentage of Internet subscriptions connected by fibre technology increased by 70.8% as customers were migrated from copper networks to new advanced networks.

In 2011, it contributed nearly 4.9% to UAE Gross Domestic Product and provided employment to 10,798 people.

Fixed telephone customers meanwhile increased 13.3% y/y, from 191,000 to 217,000, whilst fixed broadband customers increased 25.3% y/y from 104,000 to 130,000.

obile data now accounts for 15.5% of the whole of du's mobile revenue, compared to a year ago when it accounted for 9%.

The continuing development of products and services will therefore be crucial in order to maintain its mobile data growth. The operator is aiming to commercially launch LTE services this year, though will enter the market trailing its rival Etisalat, which launched its LTE network in September last year.

The fixed-line market will experience upside pressure from increased competition between Etisalat and du due to the implementation of carrier pre-selection services. However, this will be counterbalanced by increasing fixed to mobile substitution, is expected to intensify with the roll-out of next generation mobile broadband technologies.

A notable new development in the market is the launch of commercial LTE network services by second-ranked du in June 2012. The operator reports the service is capable of speeds of 150Mbps, although existing devices can only support transmission of 100Mbps. The launch follows that of rival Etisalat, which launched LTE services in 2011. du has launched the service using 1,800MHz spectrum, in contrast to the more commonly used 800MHz or 2.6GHz bands.

Q112, TRA reported a sharp fall in the number of dial-up internet subscriptions