UAE telecoms market to grow 3.7%

Appetite for faster speeds and additional content increases will drive the UAE's telecommunications market.

Driven by the growth in the fixed and mobile data segments as 4G network coverage expands and appetite for faster speeds and additional content increases, the telecommunications market in the UAE will grow at a compound annual rate of 3.7 per cent over 2016-21, a market survey said.
While competition between the two telecom operators - etisalat and du - is expected to grow further following the implementation of fixed network-sharing agreements by the regulator, both together will account for 97.5 per cent of the telecom market in the UAE, the study by Research & Markets said.
Mobile data and fixed broadband revenue will grow, owing to the increasing adoption of 4G networks and fibre-optic technology. Fixed VoIP will be the fastest-growing segment aided by the growing adoption of triple-play services.
Operators should focus on further diversifying their service portfolios by offering multi-play services to the residential segment and targeting Internet of Things and machine-to-machine communications to business customers, it said.
The telecom service revenue growth will be boosted by mobile data, fixed VoIP and fixed broadband segments while 4G will replace 3G as the largest-adopted technology by 2019.
According to market experts, the UAE telecom market, which generated $8 billion in service revenue in 2013, is on track to record revenue of $10.1 billion in 2018, with a cumulative revenue total of $46.4 billion during 2014-18.
While prospects for future growth are buoyed by sustained investments by the two major players in the market, mobile data will be the fastest-growing revenue segment in the market projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.3 per cent from 2013 to 2018, according to analysts.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com