Kuwait ranks top 3 in MEA mobile subscriptions

KUWAIT CITY-Kuwait is set to lead the Middle East in unlocking new mobile broadband business opportunities, according to companies attending GITEX Technology Week 2014.

According to the recent Ericsson Mobility Report, mobile subscriptions across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are set to grow from 1.2 billion in 2013 to 1.9 billion in 2019 – when 80 per cent of global mobile subscriptions will be for mobile broadband and more than 50 per cent of global mobile data traffic will come from video content.

Additionally, the MEA region is poised to post the world’s strongest mobile data traffic growth at 70 per cent from 2013-2018, according to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast.

With the country’s 156.9 per cent mobile subscription penetration placing it among the top three MEA rankings in the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index 2014, Kuwait – which boasts 100 per cent nationwide mobile network coverage – stands to benefit from high mobile broadband demand and usage.

“Streaming video and social media on mobile devices and cloud services will drive an immense amount of data traffic through the GCC and especially Kuwait,” said Mohammed Kazmi, Senior Manager, Product Development & Marketing, Zajil Telecom. “Today our data centers across the region are hosting cloud services that will support the region’s next generation ICT based economies – from mobile apps and video calls to business applications and Big Data.”

Zajil Telecom is among more than 300 Kuwait companies joining GITEX Technology Week’s Gulfcomms – the gateway to the region’s telecoms industry – which is sponsored by Ericsson and organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

With the Kuwaiti parliament recently approving a bill to create an independent telecom operator, the country’s telecoms industry is set to undergo further revenue-generating changes which will attract international firms.

“The largest and most important platform for enterprise telecoms, GITEX Technology Week’s Gulfcomms brings together operators, solutions providers, infrastructure builders and end-users all under one roof,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, DWTC. “Kuwait’s communications leaders will showcase mobile innovations across vital GCC sectors like energy, retail and hospitality.”

Running under the theme ‘Re-Imagining our Future’, GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2014 is set to attract more than 142,000 ICT professionals, 25,000 C-level executives and over 3,700 exhibitors from 61 countries. The show will be held from 12-16 October at DWTC.