Research and Markets: Saudi Arabia and UAE to Lead Lte Subscriptions in the Middle East with over 110,000 Subscriptions Expected to Reach in Q4 2011

Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/10cce3/lte_in_the_middle) has announced the addition of the "LTE in the Middle East and Africa: Contracts, Operator Reviews, Spectrum Strategies, Subscriptions, Pricing and Forecasts 2011 - 2015" report to their offering.

With commercial LTE launches by all three major incumbents, Saudi Arabia is not only leading the LTE adoption within the Middle East, but it is also pioneering TD-LTE adoption globally by becoming the first country to commercially offer TD-LTE user devices. Driven by early deployments, attractive free trial packages such as those offered by STC Saudi Arabia, bundled 3G/LTE pricing models, and the increasing demand for high-speed mobile broadband access in rural locations, Saudi Arabia will lead LTE subscriptions throughout the region with over 70,000 subscriptions by Q4'2011 and over 0.39 Million by Q4'2012, representing a YoY (Year-over-Year) growth of 457 %. By 2015, Saudi Arabia is expected to account for over 5.44 Million subscriptions representing a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 196.91 %, that is much higher that the worldwide CAGR of LTE adoption at 180% with a total of 410 Million subscriptions.

The UAE is also likely to follow suit, with commercial LTE devices for the Etisalat expected to be launched in December 2011, following a pre-commercial network release in September. Du is also expected to commercial launch its LTE network in due course, leading UAE's LTE subscriptions to hit 40,000 by Q1'2012. From a spectrum perspective, although the 2.3 GHz TDD spectrum is likely to retain the highest market share, driven by Saudi network deployments. Re-farming of the sub-1 GHz spectrum bands is also expected by 2013, which will make the 1800 MHz the most sought after band.

Companies Mentioned:

• Huawei
• Nokia Siemens Networks
• Motorola (Now an NSN Asset)
• Motorola Solutions
• Ericsson
• Alcatel-Lucent
• Saudi Telecom Company (STC)
• Zain Saudi Arabia (SMTC)
• Mobility (Etihad Etisalat Company)
• Etisalat (UAE)
• Du (UAE)
• Abu Dhabi Police
• Zain Bahrain
• Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain
• Zain Jordan
• Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Jordan
• Zain Kuwait
• Viva Kuwait
• Omantel
• Vodafone Qatar
• Qtel
• Etisalat Misr (Egypt)
• Vodafone Egypt
• Mobinil Egypt
• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)
• Vodacom
• MTN (South Africa)
• Cell C
• Telkom South Africa
• WBS (Wireless Business Solutions) South Africa
• Safaricom
• Orange Uganda
• Unitel Angola
• Movicel Angola
• Tunisiana
• Al Madar

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/10cce3/lte_in_the_middle