LTE in the Middle East and North Africa: Status and Prospects 2014-2018

We forecast 56 million LTE connections by 2018 in MENA - LTE will drive up revenue per connection, but total revenue will not keep up with traffic growth.

Operators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have launched LTE to gain technology leadership, or to differentiate their services from competition, but overall adoption and profitability is a challenge. This report analyses the status of LTE deployments and operators' LTE strategies in the MENA region. It includes four case studies of regional operators and a 5-year forecast of LTE connections, revenue and data traffic.

This report and accompanying data annex provide:

• details of the status of LTE network roll-outs, plans and spectrum allocated in MENA, with analysis of trends, drivers and inhibitors for the adoption of LTE
• detailed discussion of the different strategies that operators can adopt to monetise LTE services and the options available for pricing and packaging LTE services. Examples are included from MENA as well as best practices from more-mature LTE markets
• a 5-year forecast of LTE connections, revenue and data traffic, and LTE's share of these key performance indicators (KPIs) in MENA
• key implications and recommendations for mobile operators with existing LTE deployments and those considering the transition to LTE
• case studies on the LTE strategies of the following MENA operators:
  • Etisalat
  • Omantel
  • Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
  • Zain

Geographical coverage

The 5-year forecast for LTE in MENA covers the following countries and the region as a whole.

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Israel
• Kuwait
• Morocco
• Qatar

Company coverage

The following companies are mentioned in this report.

• Alfa
• Algérie Télécom
• Batelco
• Cellcom
• du
• Etisalat
• Menatelecom
• Mobily
• Nawras
• Omantel
• Ooredoo
• Orange
• Pelephone
• Regional Telecom
• Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
• Touch (Zain)
• VIVA
• Vodafone
• Zain