Kuwait Telecommunications Report Q1 2013
Business Monitor International, January 2013, Pages: 82
BMI View: We expect Kuwait's mobile operators to take advantage of their 4G concessions to offer highvalue data services in a bid to sustain ARPUs and revenue growth amid declining growth opportunities from traditional voice and SMS services. Meanwhile, the lack of competition, and consequently,
underinvestment in the fixed sector will continue to limit the development of fixed voice and data services,
particularly next generation access networks.
Key Data:
- The mobile market grew by 7.4% in 9M12, compared to 9.1% during the same period in 2011.
- Monthly blended ARPU has been on a downward trajectory, with the market share weighted average falling by 13.6% during 9M12.
Risk/Reward Ratings
Kuwait is in 4th position on BMI's Q113 Risk/Reward ratings, with above-average score in three out of the four ratings categories in our table. Kuwait's highest score is in the country rewards category, which reflects high GDP per capita, relatively high urbanisation and low unemployment rates. The country is,
however, held back by a low industry risks score owing to the lack of an independent telecoms regulator and lack of competition in the fixed-line market. It also reflects the government's significant interest in the telecoms market through the MoC's control of the fixed-line incumbent operator.
Key Trends And Developments
In October 2012, the government of Kuwait responded to calls for it to speed up 4G concessions to allow operators offer services suitable for new 4G-enabled devices, such as the Apple iPhone 5. The government authorised the country's three mobile operators, Zain, Wataniya and VIVA, to refarm their current spectrum allocations in the 1,800Mhz band for 4G LTE services, following payment of a KWD250,000 licence fee. Zain launched commercial LTE network services soon after in November 2012 to join third-ranked VIVA, which had launched LTE services in selected areas of central Kuwait in December 2011.
BMI expects strong demand for LTE services in Kuwait. However, growth will occur over the medium term, with pent-up demand limited as subscribers are locked into existing deals, at least in the short term.
However Kuwait's fixed broadband infrastructure remains relatively weak in comparison to neighbouring markets and far behind that in developed markets. Therefore, we expect demand from smartphone and dedicated mobile broadband users, to be supplemented by consumers using LTE as a home broadband service.
Executive Summary 5
SWOT Analysis 6
Kuwait Mobile SWOT 6
Kuwait Wireline SWOT 7
Kuwait Political SWOT 8
Kuwait Economic SWOT 9
Kuwait Business Environment SWOT 10
Risk/Reward Ratings 11
Middle East and North Africa 11
Table: MENA Telecom Risk/Reward Ratings, Q113 15
Kuwait 15
Industry Forecast Scenario 17
Mobile 17
Table: Telecoms Sector - Mobile - Historical Data & Forecasts 17
ARPU 19
Table: Monthly Blended ARPU 19
Fixed Line 20
Table: Telecoms Sector - Fixed Line - Historical Data & Forecasts 20
Internet 21
Table: Telecoms Sector - Internet - Historical Data & Forecasts 21
Market Overview 22
Regional Perspective 22
Table: Kuwait Mobile Market Regional Comparison, 2011 22
Key Developments 23
Mobile Growth 24
Market Shares And Net Additions 25
Subscriber Mix 26
ARPU 27
Networks 28
Mobile Content/Value-Added Services 30
Value-Added Services Timeline 33
Table: Selected VAS 33
Mobile Contract Wins 34
Table: Mobile Contract Wins 34
Mobile Operator Data 35
Table: Kuwait Mobile Market Overview 35
Table: Zain (formerly MTC) 35
Table: Viva 36
Table: Wataniya 37
Regional Mobile Content 38
Fixed Line 42
VoIP 43
Internet 44
Wireless Broadband 48
IPTV 49
Wireline Contract Wins 50
Table: Wireline Contract Wins 50
Industry Trends & Developments 51
Regulatory Environment 52
Table: Kuwait - Regulatory Bodies & Their Responsibilities 52
Legislation And Market Liberalisation 53
Regulatory Developments 54
Licensing And Spectrum 55
Competitive Landscape 57
Key Players 57
Table - Key Players: Kuwait Telecoms Markets 57
Table - Selected Operators Financial Indicators (US$mn) 57
Company Profiles 58
Zain (formerly MTC Group) 58
Wataniya Telecom 62
Vendor Profile 65
Regional Overview 65
Table: Alcatel-Lucent - Quarterly Breakdowns Of Revenue By Segments, 2011-2012 (EURmn) 65
Country Snapshot: Kuwait Demographic Data 71
Table: Kuwait's Population By Age Group, 1990-2020 ('000) 72
Table: Kuwait's Population By Age Group, 1990-2020 (% of total) 72
Table: Kuwait's Key Population Ratios, 1990-2020 73
Table: Kuwait's Rural And Urban Population, 1990-2020 74
Glossary Of Terms 75
Table: Glossary Of Terms 75
BMI Methodology 77
How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts 77
Table: Key Indicators For Telecommunications Industry Forecasts 77
Telecoms Business Environment Ratings 79
Risk/Reward Ratings Methodology 79
Table: Ratings Indicators 80
Weighting 81
Table: Weighting Of Indicators 81
Sources 81
Historical Data & Forecasts 81
Company Profiles
Zain (formerly MTC Group)
Wataniya Telecom
Vendor Profile
Regional Overview
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