UAE Telecommunications Sector Developments & Indicators ...

July 2013

UAE Telecommunications Sector

Developments & Indicators, 2009 – 2012

4th Annual Sector Review

Disclaimer

2

The TRA has compiled this report based on information received from industry, as well as from publicly reported information

from other sources.

Whilst this report and the information contained herein is, to the best knowledge of the TRA, free from error, the TRA does not

make any representations or warranties, either express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information.

Furthermore, the TRA is not liable for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the information contained in this document or

any harm that may be incurred in reliance thereon.

If a reader wishes to use any of the information contained in this report as the basis for any decision, whether or not related to

investment, the reader is obliged to determine the accuracy of the same.

Furthermore, the information is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a recommendation to take any

particular course of action.

UAE Telecommunications Sector Developments & Indicators (2009-2012), issued July 2013

Table of Contents

3

Page

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………..

Economic Summary …………………………………………………………………………

4

5

Industry Background ………………………………………………………………………… 6

Summary of Telecommunications Indicators ……………………………………………. 7

Sector Contribution to UAE Economy.…………………………………………………….. 8

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures …………………………………………………… 9

UAE - Rankings .......................................................................................................... 14

Fixed Telephony Services ………………………...……………………………………….. 15

Mobile Services ………………………………………………………………………….….. 18

International Voice Services …………………………………………………………….…. 22

Internet Services ……………………………………………………………………………. 24

Data Services ………………………………………………………………………………. 30

Annex 1: Abbreviations & Acronyms ……………..………………………………………. 31

Annex 2: Usage Indicators ……………..………………………………………………….. 32

Annex 3: Sources and Acknowledgments..……………………………………………….. 33


4

Introduction

This report is the fourth TRA Annual Sector Review. It summaries the state of the fixed, mobile, and data

telecommunications markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in terms of subscribers, penetration rates,

revenues, and usage (i.e. traffic volumes) for the years 2009 – 2012. The report also outlines the contribution of the

telecommunications sector to the UAE economy.

The data contained in this report is published in aggregate form only and statistics for individual Licensees are not

provided. The TRA has taken this step to protect the commercially sensitive information of each Licensee while

recognising that for the purpose of transparency, sound regulatory practice, and to aid in the development of

competition a publication of this nature is warranted.

The TRA wishes to thank each of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and Emirates Integrated

Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) for their respective contributions to this report through the regular supply

of sector specific information and statistics to the TRA.


Economic Summary

Indicator 2009 2010 2011 2012

Population(1) 5,066,000 5,378,460 5,883,653 8,209,459

GDP (billions) (2)

AED 941 AED 880 AED 959 AED 984

GDP Per Capita AED171,107 AED 174,132 AED 244,707

AED 238,157

High level metrics:

(1) The 2009 to 2011 population estimates are based on a TRA assumption that the population was growing at an annual rate of 6%. The large population increase shown

is 2012 is based on an updated population figure reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

(2) Estimated by the IMF.

Source: Ministry of Economy, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), TRA estimation,

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

5


Industry Background

The UAE telecommunications sector is currently served by two integrated telecommunications operators,

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications

Company PJSC (du). Competition in the UAE telecommunications sector started de facto in early 2007

when du, the second licensee, launched its mobile network services ending nearly 30 years of

telecommunications monopoly by Etisalat.

Today, the sector continues to be served by both Etisalat and du across multiple services as illustrated in

the table below:

Licensee Fixed Mobile Internet Leased Lines Other data

services

Etisalat

du

6

Several other niche licences were granted by the TRA in 2010 and 2011, namely: Al Yah Satellite Services

Company PJSC (2010), Al-Yah Advanced (2010), Star Satellite Communications (2010), Al-Maisan

Satellite Communications (2011) and Media Zone Intaj FZ LLC(2011). The impact of providing these

licences on the market is yet to be seen and measured. Therefore, all the data given in this report relates

only to Etisalat and du, and the term “Licensee” refers only to either Etisalat or du only.


The table below sets out a range of major indicators specific to the UAE telecommunications

sector for 2012.

Source: 2012 Industry data

Indicator Fixed Telephony

Service Mobile Service Internet Service

Subscribers 1,967,486 13,775,252 957,816

Revenues (Billions, AED) 2.6 20.4 3.8

Voice Minutes (Billions) 3.8 23.5 Not applicable (N/A)

ARPU(3) (Monthly, AED) 116 133 346

AMPU(4) (Monthly, Minutes) 169 153 N/A

(3) Average Revenue per User (ARPU) : Calculated by dividing the total revenues for a given period by the average number of subscribers during the same period. (3) Average Minutes per User (AMPU ): Calculated by dividing the total minutes for a given period by the average number of subscribers during the same period.

Summary of Main Telecommunications Indicators

7


• The UAE Telecommunications sector plays

an extremely important role in the economy.

In 2012, it contributed around 5% to UAE

GDP and employed 7,961 persons. 40% of

the sector’s employees were Emirati.

Sector Contribution to UAE Economy

Contribution of UAE Telecommunications

Sector to UAE GDP

2009 4.9%

2010 5.7%

2011 5.15%

2012 5.0%

Telecommunications Industry Employees (7)

8

Em

irati

zati

on

Em

plo

yees

11,890 11,528 10,798

7,961

32% 33% 36%

40%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

Employees Emiratization (%)

(6) Total investment represents Licensees’ cash flows used in investing activities. (7) Total telecommunications employees represents all employees from TRA,Etisalat and du

9,544

7,861 7,639

6,372

4.9% 5.7% 5.15% 5.0%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

Inv

estm

en

t, A

ED

, M

illio

ns

Investment Contribution to UAE GDP

Total Investment (6) (AED, millions)


9

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures - Consultations

During 2011 and 2012, the TRA conducted the following consultations all of which were published on the TRA’s website.

• Public Consultation on Competition Assessment and Proposed Remedies in Relevant Markets.

• Public Consultation on the definition of Relevant Markets for the Purpose of Ex Ante Market Reviews.

• Public Consultation on Market Definition and Competition Assessment Guidelines.

• Public Consultation on Remedies for ex-Ante Regulation of the UAE Telecommunications Sector.

• Consultation Concerning Amendments to an Existing Regulatory Instrument: Cost Accounting, Accounting Separation and LRIC Modeling.

• Consultation Procedures.

• Public Consultation on “Building the Digital Society”-National ICT Policy 2013-2016.

• Public Consultation on Dispute Resolution Procedures.

• Public Consultation on Space Telecommunications Policy Outline.

• Public Consultation on TRA Spectrum Band Plan.

• Amendment to the Public Telecommunications Licenses issued to Etisalat and du.

• Public Consultation on the Adoption of Green ICT Best practices in the UAE.

• Public Consultation on Spectrum Regulatory Instruments.

• Public Consultation regarding Draft Mobile Telecommunications Apparatus Anti Theft Instructions.

• Public Consultation on Draft Regulatory Instrument - Consumer Protection Regulations.

• Stakeholder Initiated Consultation regarding Electronic Communications, Mobile Spam Policy and Privacy of Consumer Information Policy.

• Regulatory Instruments (Second Batch)

• Spectrum Allocation and Assignment v1.0

o Cellular Systems Coverage Measurement v1.0

o Use of 2.4 GHZ and 5.8 GHZ bands for WLAN and RLAN v1.0

o Short Range Devices v1.0

• The TRA also conducted a number of closed consultations in accordance with its procedures.


10

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures - Regulatory Instruments Issued or Amended

During 2011 and 2012, the TRA issued or amended the following regulatory instruments:

• Determination: Competition Assessment of Relevant Markets-29 March 2012.

• Directive No. (3) 2012: Database Electronic Query Service Amendment to the Interconnection.

• Directive No. (1) of 2012 Incorporation of Carrier Pre-Selection Charges into the Interconnection Agreement.

• Interconnection Pricing Policy, V.1.5,15 December 2012.

• Determination No (1) of 2011 - Relevant Markets for Telecommunication Services and Related Products in the UAE.

• Update on TRA Determination No 3 of 2010 - Mobile Site Sharing Charges.

• Directive No (3) of 2011 - Twice Annual Audit of Billing Systems.

• Determination No (2) of 2011 - Carrier Pre-Selection Charges.

• Cost Accounting, Accounting Separation and LRIC Modeling Instructions V 3.1.

• A number of Determinations specifically related to the on-going project to secure competition in fixed-line services through bitstream access

and network sharing.

• National Emergency Plan for the Telecom Sector (NEP-T).

• Regulatory Policy on Non-Ionizing Radiation Limits for Telecommunications Networks.

• Regulatory Policy regarding VoIP.

• Regulatory Policy regarding Unsolicited Electronic Communications.

• Regulations of Mobile Telecommunications Apparatus – International Mobile Equipment Identity Numbers (2011).

• Directives No (6) & (7) of 2011 – Duplicate International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).

• Regulatory Policy regarding Registration Requirements for Mobile Consumers (2011).

• .emarat Arabic Domain Name Policy V 1.0.

• .emarat Launch Policy V 1.0.

• 13 policies related to .ae Domain Administration (amendment). Instructions on Mobile Telecommunications Apparatus Anti Theft V1.0 in

2012.

• Directives No (4) & (5) of 2012 – Location Based Services.


11

Consumer Complaints PCRs (Price Control Requests)

• The TRA is required to assess all requests from UAE Licensees to change retail prices. In 2012, the TRA

received 285 price approval requests (PCRs) of which 95% were approved.

• In 2012, the TRA handled 1493 complaints from business and residential consumers concerning issues

with Licensees. The increase in the number of complaints may be a result of increased consumer

awareness regarding the services provided by the TRA to consumers.

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures - Price Control and Consumer Complaints N

um

ber

of

PC

Rs

Nu

mb

er

of

Co

mp

lain

ts

451

410

285 272

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Total Approved

2011 2012

980

1493

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

2011 2012


12

Spectrum Allocations Processed

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures - Spectrum Applications

Nu

mb

er

of

Allo

cati

on

s

• The TRA manages the Frequency Spectrum in the UAE. The chart below shows the number of allocation

applications processed by the TRA during the period from 2010 to 2012.

4,091

5,568

472

934

2,999

8,156

638

1,784

2,495 2,780

653 769

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

New Applications Application renewals Application Modification Cancellations

2010 2011 2012


13

32

41

0

10

20

30

40

50

2011 2012

Solved & closed Spectrum Interference Complaints

TRA Regulatory Policy and Procedures – Spectrum Interference Complaints Resolved

and Support to Broadcasting and Production Activities

12 32

102

407

5 27

99

551

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

FM Radio Earth Station & DSNG Wireless Camera Wireless Mic

Fre

qu

ncy A

ssig

nm

en

ts

Wireless Services to Support Broadcasting and Production Activities

2011

2012

Number of Frequency Assignments to Support Broadcasting and

Production Activities


14

UAE Rankings in Various International Studies (2012-2013)

• The UAE ranked 2nd of all the Arab states in the 2012-2013 Networked Readiness

Index (NRI) study issued by the World Economic Forum, and 25th among all 144

countries assessed.

• The UAE ranked overall 45th in the world in the ICT Development Index (IDI) in 2012.

This was the 3rd highest ranking among all the GCC and Arab states.

• The UAE ranked 2nd of all the GCC and Arab states in the IDI ICT Usage sub-

index. Key findings include the following:

- The UAE ranked 2nd in the world in the fixed telephony sub-basket

- The UAE ranked 5th in the world for the mobile cellular sub-basket

- The UAE ranked 6th in the world in the ICT Price Basket


Fixed Telephony – Number of Fixed Lines

• The fall in the fixed line penetration level shown in the chart below between 2011 and 2012 was due to

a change in the way the population was estimated.

• The significant increase in the number of fixed line subscribers from 2011 was largely due to the

inclusion of fixed lines bundled with broadband in some instances TV. These bundled fixed lines were

not reported to the TRA in 2010 and were therefore not counted in earlier statistics.

• The fixed line penetration rate as of December 2012 was 24%.

Number of Fixed Lines (‘000s) Business vs Residential Fixed Lines (‘000s)

15

Fix

ed

Lin

es, th

ou

san

ds

1,561 1,461

1,825 1,967

30%

26.4%

31%

24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2009 2010 2011 2012

Fixed Lines Penetration Rate

794

639

972

1100

767 822 839 856

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2009 2010 2011 2012

Number of residential fixed lines Number of business fixed lines

Fix

ed

Lin

es, th

ou

san

ds


Fixed Telephony – Revenues

(8) Total fixed revenues include fixed telephony, calls from Payphone and calls to directory enquiry. It does not include revenue generated from the monthly charges from

Double Play and Triple Play subscriptions.

• Fixed telephony revenues declined by 8%

between 2011 and 2012, international

voice revenues fell by 10%, and domestic

voice revenues fell by 9%.

• International voice revenues per line in

2012 were around half what they were in

2009.

Total Fixed Telephony Revenues (8)

(AED, millions)

Monthly Fixed Line ARPU, AED

16

Millio

ns, A

ED

AR

PU

, A

ED

Breakdown of Fixed Telephony Revenues (AED, millions)

Rev

en

ue, m

illi

on

s

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

1,276 1,146 1,137

1,033

1,612

1,190

926 831

Domestic Voice Revenue International Voice Revenue

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

2009 2010 2011 2012

3,827

3,223

2,898

2,667

0

50

100

150

200

250

2009 2010 2011 2012

203

177

138 116


Fixed Telephony – Usage

• Total fixed telephony minutes decreased

by 7% between 2011 and 2012.

• Calls to mobile phones represented 65%

of total voice minutes from fixed lines in

2012.

Monthly Fixed Line AMPU (9)

Minutes

Breakdown of Total Annual Voice

Minutes (Billions)

17

Min

ute

s, M

illio

ns

AM

PU

, M

inu

tes

Total Annual Voice Minutes

(millions)

Min

ute

s, M

illio

ns

(9) In the 2nd Annual Review, the TRA used subscriptions as at the end of December to calculate average revenues and usage. In this report, the TRA has used average

subscriptions over the calendar year. (10)Local Calls are defined as any call from a fixed line using a single switching center, i.e. the a call both originates and terminates within a local calling area.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

5,142

4,344 4,176

3,875

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2009 2010 2011 2012

273

239

198

169

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

2009 2010 2011 2012

544 496 596 578

3,247

2,784 2,720 2,504

781 599

490 450 570 466 369 343

Domestic Minutes long distance - Fixed to Fixed

Domestic Minutes - Fixed to Mobile

International minutes

Local Call minutes (9)


Mobile Services – Active Subscriptions

(10) ‘Active’ is defined as any subscriber who has made or received a voice or video call in the preceding 90 days, or has sent an SMS or MMS during that period.

(11) Prepaid figures include subscribers on visitor SIM packages.

• In 2012, the reported mobile penetration rate fell to 168%. However, this fall was due to the change

in the way the population of the UAE was estimated.

• The number of active mobile subscriptions increased by 17.5% between 2011 and 2012.

• In 2012, postpaid subscriptions accounted for 12% of total mobile subscriptions.

Su

bscri

pti

on

s, T

ho

usan

ds

Pen

etr

ati

on

Active Mobile Subscriptions (10)

(‘000s)

Breakdown of Prepaid vs. Postpaid

Subscriptions (11)

18

Perc

en

tag

e o

f su

bscri

pti

on

s

10,672 10,926 11,727 13,775

204% 197%

199%

168%

0%

30%

60%

90%

120%

150%

180%

210%

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

Total subscriptions Penetration Rate

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2009 2010 2011 2012

91% 89% 88% 88%

9% 11% 12% 12%

Prepaid Postpaid


Mobile Services – Revenue

• Revenues generated from mobile services

increased by 2.6% in 2012. The majority of the

revenue increase came from postpaid service which

increased 12.5% from the previous year.

• The relative difference in the revenues generated

from prepaid and postpaid is decreasing overtime.

• The small decrease in prepaid revenues in 2012

was offset by a considerable increase in postpaid

revenues.

Total Mobile Revenues

(AED millions)

19 (12) Excluding Blackberry revenue, as that level of the revenue segregation is not available

AR

PU

, A

ED

Millio

ns, A

ED

Mobile Monthly ARPU

Breakdown of Total Revenue (12)

(AED, millions)

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

12,737 12,337 12,339 12,015

4,364 5,066

6,787 7,634

Prepaid Revenue Postpaid Revenue

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

22,000

24,000

2009 2010 2011 2,012

17,787 18,400

19,932 20,447

50

70

90

110

130

150

170

190

2009 2010 2011 2012

150 143

148

133


Mobile Services – Usage (Minutes)

• Total annual mobile originated call

minutes increased by 5.6% between

2011 and 2012.

• International call minutes decreased by

3.6% between 2011 and 2012.

• The average minutes of usage of a

postpaid subscribers is more than

double that of a prepaid subscribers.

Mobile Average Minutes Per User (AMPU)

20

AM

PU

, M

on

thly

Breakdown of Total Annual Voice Minutes (millions)

Vo

ice M

inu

tes, M

illio

ns

Total Annual Voice Minutes (millions)

Min

ute

s, M

illio

ns

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

963 939 928 987

15,460 15,846 15,862 17,261

3,819 4,232 5352 5155

156 158 151 139

Mobile to Fixed Mobile to Mobile

International minutes Outbound roaming

18,500

19,500

20,500

21,500

22,500

23,500

24,500

2009 2010 2011 2012

20,426

21,200

22,293

23,543

-

100

200

300

400

500

2009 2010 2011 2012

172 164 165 153 147 142 142 130

410 362

334 309

Total Prepaid Postpaid


21

Mobile Services – Usage (SMS & MMS)

% Growth

2009-2010

% Growth

2010-2011

% Growth

2011-2012

SMS -9% -11% -6%

MMS -25% -19% -15%

• The total number of SMS messages sent

decreased by 24% between 2009 and

2012, and 6% between 2011 to 2012 alone.

• The total number of MMS messages sent

decreased by 15% between 2011 and

2012.

MM

S , M

illi

on

s

(13) SMS includes domestic SMS, international SMS and SMSs sent by outbound roamers.

Total Number of SMS (13)

SM

S, M

illio

ns

Total Number of MMS

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

3,578

3,254

2,900 2,723

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2009 2010 2011 2012

84

63

51

43


22

International Voice Services

Breakdown of International Outgoing Traffic

(Millions, Minutes)

Breakdown of International Revenues

(AED Millions)

International

outgoing Minutes

% growth

2009- 2010

% growth

2010- 2011

% growth

2011- 2012

From Fixed -23% -18% -8%

From Mobile 11% 26% -3.6%

International

Revenues

% growth

2009- 2010

% growth

2010- 2011

% growth

2011- 2012

From Fixed -26% -22% -10%

From Mobile -0.5% -2% -3%

Min

ute

s, M

illio

ns

Millio

ns, A

ED

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

4,601 4,831

5,842 5,605

3,819 4,232

5,352 5,155

781 599 490 450

Total International Minutes Minutes from Mobile

Minutes from Fixed

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

9,373 8,915

8,489 8,153 7,760 7,725 7,563 7,322

1,612 1,190 926 831

Total International Revenues Revenues from Mobile

Revenues from Fixed

• 2012 recorded the first decline in international outgoing Minutes originating from mobile phones.

• Revenues generated from international calls has progressively decreased over the last 3 years


23

International Voice Services - 2012

International Call Minutes (Fixed + Mobile ) by destination (top 8 countries) (14)

• Calls to India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh represented 51% of total outgoing international

traffic in 2012.

(14) Top 8 countries refer to most popular destinations of outgoing calls.

inte

rnati

on

al

traff

ic,

Mil

lio

ns

1,115

851

399 357 349

215 203 137

333

97 17 47

350

89

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

India Pakistan Philippines Bangladesh Egypt Saudi Arabia Syria Oman

International Outgoing Traffic International Incoming Traffic


Internet - All Subscribers

• The large decline in the number of internet subscribers in 2012 was due to changes in the methodology for

recording dial-up subscribers. As from 2012, the TRA began reporting only the number of ‘active’ dial-up accounts

rather than the total number of dial-up accounts. ’Active’ accounts refer to those that have been used in the

previous 90 days.

• As of December 2012, there were 957,816 Internet subscribers in the UAE.

• The percentage of internet subscriptions by fibre technology increased by 37.2% between December 2011 and

December 2012.

Total Internet Subscribers in Millions (15)

24

Inte

rnet

Su

bscri

bers

, m

illio

ns

Pen

etr

ati

on

(15) The Internet User Penetration rate was calculated using the ITU methodology which assumes there are 2.5 Internet users per Internet subscription.

Inte

rnet

Su

bscri

bers

, th

ou

san

ds

Internet Subscription by

Technology (thousands)

1.404 1.375 1.327

0.958

18.5% 24.8%

22.6%

11.7%

67.3%

62.0%

56.4%

29.2%

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

75%

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

2009 2010 2011 2012

Total Subscribers Penetration Rate

Internet user penetration rate

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

2009 2010 2011 2012

18 11 6 4 78

289

495

679

1,309

1,074

827

272

Wi-Max , Cable Fiber Copper


25

Internet - Broadband Subscribers

Broadband Subscribers (17)

• The total number of broadband subscribers increased by 9.3% between 2011 and 2012.

• The penetration level of broadband was 11.6% as at December 2012.

Bro

ad

ban

d S

ub

scri

bers

Pen

etr

ati

on

690,424 790,082

873,395 954,988

13.2% 14.3% 14.8% 11.6%

33.1% 35.6% 37.1%

29.1%

-5%

5%

15%

25%

35%

45%

55%

65%

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

Broadband subscribers Broadband Penetration Rate Broadband User Penetration Rate

34%

35%

31%

In 2012

Stand alone

Double Play

Triple Play49%

34%

17%

In 2011

Stand alone

Double Play

Triple Play

Broadband Subscription shares by Package, 2012 (18)

(17) The Broadband User Penetration rate is calculated using the ITU methodology which assumes that there are 2.5 Internet users per Internet subscription.

(18) Stand alone includes copper, WiMax and Fibre connections. Double Play subscriptions refer to bundled landline and broadband packages while Triple

Play subscriptions refer to bundled landline, broadband and TV packages. The TRA began the collection of these statistics in 2011.


Residential Internet Subscribers, (‘000s) Business Internet Subscribers, (‘000s)

Service Subscriber growth

2009 - 2010

Subscriber growth

2010 - 2011

Subscriber growth

2011 - 2012

Residential dial-up -22% -26% -99%

Business dial-up 14% 1.1% -99%

Residential broadband 13% 11% 10%

Business broadband 30% 11% 6%

26

Res

ide

nti

al S

ub

sc

rib

ers

, T

ho

usan

ds

Bu

sin

ess S

ub

scri

bers

, T

ho

usan

d

Residential and Business Internet Subscribers

-

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2009 2010 2011 2012

637

497

366

2

620

698

772

847

Residential dialup subscribers

Residential broadband subscribers

-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2009 2010 2011 2012

77

87 88

0.5

71

92 102 108

Business dialup subscribers


Distribution of Business Broadband Subscribers by Internet Speed 2009 - 2012

27

Distribution of Residential Broadband Subscribers by Internet Speed 2009 - 2012 B

usin

ess B

road

ban

d S

ub

scri

bers

R

esid

en

tial B

road

ban

d S

ub

scri

bers

The Distribution of Residential and Business Broadband Subscribers

0%

15%

30%

45%

2009 2010 2011 2012

37%

26%

17%

9%

35%

25%

20%

11%

19%

14% 12%

18%

5% 3% 2% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0%

3% 2% 1% 2% 1%

30%

47% 58%

256 Kbps 512 Kbps 1 Mbps 2 Mbps 3Mbps 4 Mbps Above 4 Mbps

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2009 2010 2011 2012

9% 5%

3% 2%

51%

43%

31%

21% 17%

14% 19%

27%

15%

10% 8% 8%

0% 0% 1% 0%

8%

14% 13%

11%

1%

15%

25%

32%

256 Kbps 512 Kbps 1 Mbps 2 Mbps 3Mbps 4 Mbps Above 4 Mbps


Internet Services – Revenue

• Internet revenues increased by 15.2% in 2012.

28

Total Internet Revenues (AED, millions)

Rev

en

ue, A

ED

-

400

800

1,200

1,600

2,000

2,400

2,800

3,200

3,600

4,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

2,532 2,733

3,322

3,827


Internet Services – ARPU Broadband

• Internet ARPUs have increased over time. This appears to be attributable to subscribers moving to

higher speed broadband packages.

• Business broadband monthly ARPU is significantly higher than that of residential subscriptions.

Broadband Monthly ARPU, AED

29

Bro

ad

ban

d A

RP

U,

AE

D

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Overall Broadband Residential Broadband Business Broadband

328

237

1169

299

222

917

331

252

919

346

261

1001

2009 2010 2011 2012


Data Services – Leased Lines

• The number of leased line subscribers increased by 9.8% in 2012 compared to the previous year.

• Leased line revenues increased by 4.6%.

Total Leased Line Subscribers Total Revenue (AED millions)

30

Nu

mb

er

of

Su

bscri

bers

Rev

en

ue in

millio

ns

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

2009 2010 2011 2012

17,485

38,271

44,739

49,161

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

2009 2010 2011 2012

879

1,128 1,145 1,198


31

Abbreviations & Acronyms

UAE United Arab Emirates

TRA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

ITU International Telecommunication Union

IMF International Monetary Fund

AED United Arab Emirates Dirham

GDP Gross Domestic Product

ARPU Average Revenue Per User

AMPU Average Minutes Per User

SMS Short Message Service

MMS Multimedia Message Service

FTTH Fibre To The Home

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

Kbps Kilobits Per Second

Mbps Megabits Per Second

PCR Price Control Request

Annex 1


32

Annex 2

Fixed Lines Indicators for the year 2012

Average duration of domestic calls from fixed lines 1.94 min

Average revenue of domestic calls from fixed lines AED 0.34 /min

Average international calls duration from fixed lines 4.74 min

Average revenue from International call from fixed lines AED1.85/min

Average number of international call minutes per fixed line 19.66 min/month

Mobile Indicators for the year 2012

Average duration of mobile domestic voice calls 1.64 min

Average revenue per mobile domestic calls AED 0.32 /min

Average international call duration 3.15 min

Average revenue from International calls AED 1.42 /min

Average international minutes per subscriber 33.52 min/month

Average national SMSs per subscriber 13 SMS/month

Average international SMSs per subscriber 4.33 SMS/month

Usage Indicators


33

Annex 3

Sources and Acknowledgments

Ministry of Economy (MoE) http://www.economy.gov.ae

International Monetary Fund (IMF) www.imf.org/

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) www.itu.int/

Industry statistics 2009 – 2012 Provided to the TRA by du and Etisalat on

a monthly basis.

TRA Mobile Networks Benchmarking studies www.tra.gov.ae


http://www.economy.gov.ae/

http://www.imf.org/

http://www.itu.int/

http://www.imf.org/

http://www.itu.int/

http://www.itu.int/

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