Jordan second most competitive Arab mobile phone market — report

AMMAN — Jordan has maintained its position since 2012 as the second most competitive cellular market in the Arab world, according to a study by the Arab Advisers Group.

The “Cellular Competition Intensity Index 2014” ranked Saudi Arabia as having the most competitive mobile phone market with a score of 75.86 per cent, followed by Jordan (73.16 per cent) and Palestine (71.28 per cent).

Libya was the last on the list, with 31.21 per cent, according to the report e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The index compares the state of every market relative to other markets. As such, even if a market’s absolute level of competition improved, its score in this relative index will also depend on how other markets developed.

The 2014 index results revealed that seven countries ranked higher than their 2013 index ranks; these are: Iraq, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar and Lebanon.

“Jordan is one of the countries that witness very strong competition among operators. Prices are competitive and there is competition in introducing new services by operators,” an expert in the telecom sector said on Tuesday.

“I expect the competition to intensify after the launch of 4G [fourth generation] service in Jordan,” he said.

In Jordan, where there are more than 10.7 million mobile subscriptions and three telecom operators, third generation services are already available in the market. Zain Jordan will be the first to launch 4G services in the first quarter of 2015.

Moreover, a total of seven countries ranked lower compared to the 2013 index: Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Mauritania, the United Arab Emirates and Libya. 

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen and Syria maintained their 2013 ranks.

The Arab Advisers Group devised the Cellular Competition Intensity Index to rate and examine the intensity level of competition in the Arab world’s cellular markets, the report said. 

The index takes into account the number of operators, packages, and services available in each of the 19 countries covered by the group. 

The categories include number of licensed and expected mobile network operators in 2014; number of working operators; market share of largest operator; number of prepaid plans; number of post-paid plans; availability of smart phone plans; availability of corporate offers; availability of 3G/4G services; and the availability of operational international long distance competition.