Saudi, UAE set to see huge growth in 4G data demand

Telecom companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are poised to see huge annual growth in the take-up of 4G technologies in their drive to meet the surge in demand for data services, according to a new report.Long-term evolution (LTE) services are predicted to grow by 54 percent in Saudi Arabia and by 84 percent in the UAE, with both countries's demand driven by a tech-savvy, youthful population, consultants Frost & Sullivan said. "With the current third-generation (3G) networks proving incapable of handling the growth in mobile data traffic, mobile operators in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to migrate to 4G technologies soon," the report said.Frost & Sullivan further indicated that LTE technology launches in Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be limited to only major metros, with operators expected to increase their service coverage gradually in 2012-2013. According to its report, Saudi Arabia is one of the largest mobile markets in the Gulf region, with 51.6 million mobile subscribers and mobile penetration of 186 percent. It added that the UAE also has a highly-saturated mobile market, with mobile penetration of 197.2 percent."The mobile consumers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a strong demand for mobile data services. Hence, operators are continually upgrading their networks to offer high-speed data services," the report said. Frost & Sullivan added that mobile broadband was also gaining momentum, driven by the proliferation of smartphones and smart devices along with the increasing use of social networking and blogging tools, amongst others.In June, it was reported that the number of Arab women using the social networking site Facebook rose 3.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, but remains significantly lower than in other regions. Analysing the rise of social networking in the Middle East, the second Arab Social Media Report said women account for 33.5 percent of users in the region, up from 32 percent in 2010. Globally, women and girls account for a massive 61 percent of all Facebook users. From / Arabian Business News