Saudi Arabia has been ranked as the MENA region’s most competitive mobile market for the third consecutive year. The ‘Cellular Competition Intensity Index (CCII) 2013’, released this month by the Arab Advisors Group, puts Jordan in the number two spot, followed by Palestine.
The Arab Advisors Group (AAG) devised the CCII to rate and to examine the intensity level of competition in the Arab World’s cellular markets. The index takes into account the number of operators, packages and services available in each of the 19 countries covered by the AAG.
Each category was assigned a certain weight according to its importance as an indicator of competition. The categories include the following: Number of licensed and expected MNOs in 2013, number of working operators, market share of the largest operator, number of prepaid plans, number of post-paid plans, availability of smart phone plans, availability of corporate offers, availability of 3G services and the availability of operational ILD (International Long Distance) competition.
The CCII is relative in nature as it compares the state of every market relative to other markets. As such, even if a market’s absolute level of competition improves, its score in this relative index will also depend on how other markets have developed.
CCII results for 2013 revealed that Saudi Arabia tops the score as the most competitive Arab market with a 76.58 per cent mark.
This is followed by Jordan (75.83 per cent), Palestine (71.55 per cent), Egypt (67.89 per cent), Iraq (66.03 per cent), Oman (64.28 per cent), Morocco (64.20 per cent), Bahrain (64.18 per cent), Tunisia (63.03 per cent), Sudan (59.01 per cent), Mauritania (58.28 per cent), Algeria (57.99 per cent), Yemen (56.38 per cent), Kuwait (54.32 per cent), UAE (48.68 per cent), Qatar (47.67 per cent), Libya (41.58 per cent), Syria (40.74 per cent) and Lebanon (40.71 per cent).
The 2013 index results revealed that five countries ranked higher than their 2012 index ranks, these are: Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, Mauritania and Libya. Moreover, a total of six countries ranked lower compared to the 2012 index, namely: Oman, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria and Lebanon. The remaining eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar, maintained their 2012 ranks.
“Saudi Arabia maintained its rank as the most competitive cellular market in the Arab World for the third consecutive year. The country hosts four operational and licensed mobile network operators, in addition to one MVNO. Saudi Arabia’s score benefited from the availability of smart phone plans, corporate offers, 3G services and ILD competition”, says Mr. Mohammed Al-Shawwa, research manager of Arab Advisors Group.
