The adoption of the fifth generation of cellular technology (5G) will account for more than 45 m or 6,3% of the total number of connections in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by 2025. According to reports "The mobile economy: Middle East and North Africa 2019" and "Unlocking the potential of IoT in the MENA region" published by the GSMA during the Mobile 360 Mena event organized in Dubai, 4G connections have surpassed 2G to become the second dominant technology. this year, but will reach 52% in 2025 against 26% in 2018. The GSMA represents the interests of 750 mobile operators worldwide and more than 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. In Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, 5G connections will reach 17% in 2025, but 4G will reach 74% of connections, compared to 41% for 4G in 2018. John Giusti, Regulatory Officer of The GSMA told LaComparacion Middle East that 5G will be a more robust service than previous networks and will provide new use cases in industries such as smart cities and manufacturing. . "4G and 5G will work synchronously for many years, despite different use cases. There is still a lot of growth potential in 4G," he said. About 25 percent of the 40 global commercial 5G deployments are currently in the GCC, he said, adding that 12 operators are spread across five markets: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States. United Arab Emirates: Has 12,000+ live 5G sites with 600,000+ links. 4G growth will continue at a steady pace in the coming years and is expected to surpass 3G in Mena by 2021. "4G adoption is motivated by the extension of coverage and the efforts of operators to migrate users from 2G and 3G to 4G networks. However, device affordability remains a concern for many consumers in low-income country categories," the report says.
Mobile will add € 220 billion to the economy
Mobile technologies and services added €191 billion to the region's economy in 2018, or about 4.5% of regional GDP. By 2023, the economic contribution of mobile telephony is expected to reach more than €220 billion, as countries increasingly benefit from the productivity and efficiency improvements brought about by the growing absorption of mobile services, and networks 5G and IoT are widely deployed. Internet of Things connections in the region are growing at a slower rate than Asia and the Pacific. They are expected to reach 470 million IoT connections in the region by the end of 2019, reaching 1.100 billion by 2025. By 2025, the region is expected to account for around 4% of the total number of global IoT connections, with growth 16% annually. The deployment of the Internet of Things is expected to add €18 billion to regional GDP by 2025. “Supported by proactive government support, mobile operators, particularly in the GCC Arab States, have rapidly deployed 5G technology.” said Mats Granryd, General Manager of GSMA. Beyond the GCC, he said the broader MENA region would have the opportunity to take advantage of technological developments brought about by 5G and IoT. In the United Arab Emirates, the number of licensed cellular IoT connections will double to almost 4.36 million in 2025, compared to 2.25 million in 2018, while in Saudi Arabia it will reach 5.72 million, compared to 4 million in 2018. In Mena, licensed cellular IoT (operator connectivity options for smart cities, utilities, retail and other verticals) accounted for 5% of total IoT connections in 2018; this number will increase to 7% by 2025. The number of licensed cellular IoT connections in the region will increase to more than 70 million by 2025. "To fully realize these benefits, governments in the region need to support the regulatory frameworks and policies that ensure the development of 5G, including the provision of sufficient spectrum," he said.
Operator revenue should reach € 76 billion
In the Mena region, the number of mobile subscribers will increase from 382 million in 2018 to 459 million in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 2.7%, while SIM connections will increase from 632 million in 2018 to 722 million in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 1.9%. The SIM card penetration rate will increase from 105% in 2018 to 109% in 2025. The report says that operators' revenue will increase by about 17 percent to €76 billion in 2025, up from €65 billion million in 2018. At the end of 2018, almost half of the 25 countries in the region had a subscriber penetration rate of 70% or more. For context, the world average at the end of the same period was 66%. In the region's more mature markets, subscriber growth has slowed to less than 2% per year. However, there are still significant growth opportunities in the region's frontier markets, where subscriber penetration rates remain below 50%. On average, the region will record an annual growth rate of 2.7% between 2018 and 2025. During the same period, the number of mobile Internet users will increase at an annual growth rate of 5%, exceeding by more than 4% the mobile Internet penetration rate in the region. % for the first time. The growth is mainly due to the migration of existing 50G subscribers to mobile broadband networks. Most new mobile phone users, especially those belonging to the younger population, are adopting 2G/3G early on.