Telecommunications Price Benchmarking for Arab Countries 2010 · 2020. 10. 5. · for Arab Countries 2010 Report from the AREGNET Price Benchmarking Study ... Email [email protected]

www.strategyanalytics.com © Teligen, Strategy Analytics Ltd, 2010. All rights reserved.

Telecommunications

Price Benchmarking

for Arab Countries 2010

Report from the AREGNET Price Benchmarking Study

Prepared by:

Name Halvor Sannæs

Position Director Tariff Services

Tel +47 3702 3400

Email [email protected]

August 2010

Acknowledgements

Teligen wishes to thank:

– The AREGNET members for feedback and support in the collection

of tariff information and to TRA Bahrain for commissioning and

coordinating the study on behalf of AREGNET

– The operators who have contributed with additional tariff

information

Contents of this report

Background on this study and the basket concept 4

Results from the PSTN basket 6

Results from the Mobile basket 25

Results from the Leased Line basket 40

Results from the Broadband basket 50

Results from the call price comparison 61

Summary of findings 72

Reference information and acronyms 73

The context

The benchmarking study was originally initiated by TRA Bahrain in 2008 and updated in 2009. This update for 2010 was commissioned by TRA Bahrain on behalf of AREGNET.

In increasingly competitive markets it is important for regulators to be able to track the evolution of prices and analyze the impact of price change and competition on the effective prices paid by consumers.

This study allows Arab countries to compare the price levels within and between countries, and also to compare with the OECD countries. Data presented in this report is comparable with data from the 2008 and 2009 reports. However, please note that exchange rates have changed.

The benchmarking covers the following services:

– Fixed voice (PSTN) (OECD basket equivalent)

– Mobile telephony (OECD basket equivalent)

– Leased Lines (OECD basket equivalent)

– Broadband ADSL (Teligen basket)

– Call cost for specific types of calls

The methodologies for fixed and mobile telephony and leased lines are identical to the OECD Price Benchmarking baskets, with minor changes. A separate document explaining the methodology used in this study is available. As OECD baskets were revised in 2009/2010 some results are presented for both versions of the baskets.

The data was collected by Teligen from public sources on the Internet. Data has subsequently been passed to national regulators for comments.

Basket results

per tariff

(in national currency)

Price benchmarking with “Baskets”

Tariff information Tariff information

Tariff information Tariff information

Usage profile

(“Basket”)

Benchmarking results

for all tariffs

(in common currency)

Tax and exchange rate

adjustments.

Purchasing Power.

Basket results

per tariff


Basket results

per tariff


Basket results

per tariff


Combine tariff information with a usage profile

in a “basket calculation engine” to calculate

cost of individual calls and tariff elements.

Adjust costs for tax, currency and purchasing

power to create comparable results.

The benchmarking results show the end user

cost of using the service according to the

usage profile, in a consistent format.

Fixed voice (PSTN) baskets, 2006 version

Five different basket definitions: – Low usage, medium usage and high usage for residential users

– SoHo usage (single user) and SME usage (30 users) for business

The baskets define the volumes and the structure of usage – Volume and distribution of calls to different destinations

– Distribution and duration of calls at different times of day

Tariffs from the incumbent operator in each country – Several tariff packages can be covered for each operator

Tariff information included in basket calculation: – Fixed charges for installation and rental

– Usage charges covering local through to national calls, calls to mobiles, and international calls to other AREGNET countries plus a few other destinations

The results show the lowest cost option for each operator

Volumes Call proportions Call durations (minutes)Total calls

per month Fixed line Mobile International Fixed Mobile International

Residential Low 50 76.0% 19.0% 5.0% 3.7 - 7 1.8 - 2.1 5.5 - 7.2

Residential Medium 100 75.0% 23.0% 2.0% 3.7 - 7 1.8 - 2.1 5.5 - 7.2

Residential High 200 65.0% 31.0% 4.0% 3.7 - 7 1.8 - 2.1 5.5 - 7.2

Business Small 150 67.0% 29.0% 4.0% 1.9 - 3.1 1.6 - 1.7 2.9 - 3.9

Business SME 233 72.0% 20.0% 8.0% 1.9 - 3.1 1.6 - 1.7 2.9 - 3.9

Fixed voice (PSTN) data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of January 2010.

– Additional clarifications have been sought from operators and regulators.

– Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information, and on this report, prior to final publication.

Due to lack of published data, and lack of feedback, no data is available for:

– Comoros

– Iraq

– Kuwait

Part of data is missing for:

– Syria (no prices for calls to mobile)

– Yemen (no prices for national calls and fixed line)

The analysis covers 40 tariffs from the incumbent operators in 19 countries

Low usage basket results

Most Arab countries have a low

fixed cost, and “average to high”

usage cost.

International calls are particularly

expensive (see international basket).

For Arab countries the international

usage is 57% of the total usage, while

for the OECD it is 32%.

The “average” lines are indications of the averages across

OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

OECD Residential basket, Low Usage

21.48

25.65

25.77

26.64

27.34

27.44

28.99

30.05

33.51

34.38

38.89

39.76

41.31

44.19

62.75

73.98

77.99

80.92

93.38

20.91

21.04

48.11

60.02

34.91

43.92

- 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

UAE, Etisalat

Bahrain, Batelco

Syria, Syrian Telecom *

Yemen, Tele Yemen *

Qatar, Qtel

Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom

Sudan, Sudan Telecom (Thabit)

Egypt, Egypt Telecom

Libya, Libya Telecom

Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom

Jordan, Orange

Algeria, Algerie Telecom

Lebanon, Ogero

Oman, Omantel

Somalia, Somali Telecom

Morocco, Maroc Telecom

Mauritania, Mauritel

Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom

Palestine, Paltel

Turkey, Turk Telecom

Iceland, Síminn

USA, Verizon, NY + AT&T

Czech Rep., Telefonica O2

OECD simple average,

Arab simple average,

Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Included

Fixed Usage

January 2010

Tw o cheapest OECD countries

Tw o most expensive OECD countries

OECD simple average

Countries marked * do not have

complete tariff data.

Arab simple average

Medium usage basket results



OECD Residential basket, Medium Usage

21.31

24.57

25.14

30.23

32.42

40.82

42.42

43.03

43.12

44.61

50.66

51.60

56.09

56.31

71.26

80.76

95.39

100.79

142.98

27.27

27.91

64.43

84.19

45.45

55.45

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Yemen, Tele Yemen *

UAE, Etisalat


Qatar, Qtel

Bahrain, Batelco






Jordan, Orange


Lebanon, Ogero

Oman, Omantel





Palestine, Paltel


Iceland, Síminn

Australia, Telstra





Fixed Usage

January 2010



OECD simple average



Arab simple average

High usage basket results

With high usage six of

the Arab countries can compare with

the average OECD cost. (up from

three last year)

The low fixed cost does, combined with

the relatively high usage cost, create

a situation where competing operators

may easily attract high volume users.

Buying the low cost line from the

incumbent operator, and cheaper

calls from an indirect provider, may

be a tempting alternative when usage

is high.

This may put the incumbent operator

in a difficult position.



OECD Residential basket, High Usage

61.50

69.43

70.07

75.54

79.86

85.26

87.26

97.68

102.47

103.69

105.16

112.66

113.65

132.95

142.19

149.69

178.15

255.40

331.73

36.92

42.59

128.12

145.32

75.72

123.91

- 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

UAE, Etisalat

Qatar, Qtel


Bahrain, Batelco


Yemen, Tele Yemen *





Jordan, Orange

Lebanon, Ogero

Oman, Omantel






Palestine, Paltel

Canada, Bell

Denmark, TDC

Hungary, T-Com





Fixed Usage

January 2010



OECD simple average



Arab simple average

SOHO basket results

The profile of the “Small Office /

Home Office” basket is largely similar

to the Medium Residential basket.

The main difference is higher overall

usage and more international calls.

The difference between the Arab and

the OECD averages is smaller for

business services than for residential

services.



OECD Business basket, SOHO

30.30

31.08

39.51

43.89

44.11

48.04

53.52

58.02

60.68

72.43

72.79

73.89

75.91

84.35

93.07

104.81

124.31

172.74

-

21.93

22.42

84.05

87.31

49.23

71.30

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200


Yemen, Tele Yemen *

Bahrain, Batelco

UAE, Etisalat




Lebanon, Ogero

Oman, Omantel

Qatar, Qtel



Jordan, Orange





Palestine, Paltel

0, 0

Norway, Telenor


Mexico, Telmex

UK, BT



Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Excluded

Fixed Usage

January 2010



OECD simple average



Arab simple average

SME basket results

The SME basket covers 30 lines

and 30 users. Usage per user

is higher than with the SOHO

basket.

All Arab countries are above

OECD average.



OECD Business basket, SME

2,136.80

2,165.06

2,212.49

2,296.21

2,299.70

2,444.35

2,809.78

2,901.25

3,048.04

3,132.76

3,335.04

3,610.23

4,004.05

4,199.66

4,457.41

6,500.75

6,908.10

8,760.79

-

757.42

800.96

3,746.43

3,777.87

1,970.98

3,734.58

-

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

10,00

0

UAE, Etisalat


Bahrain, Batelco




Lebanon, Ogero

Yemen, Tele Yemen *

Qatar, Qtel

Oman, Omantel

Jordan, Orange







Palestine, Paltel

0, 0

Norway, Telenor


UK, BT

Mexico, Telmex



Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Excluded

Fixed Usage

January 2010



OECD simple average



Arab simple average

International call basket

The international basket gives the weighted average of the cost of

one call, weighted by:

– Destination: 22 Arab countries, 4 Western and 4 Eastern countries

– Time of day: Residential basket with 25% peak time and 75% off-peak

time

– Duration: Peak calls of 3 minutes, off-peak calls of 5 minutes

The destinations are weighted based on originating and destination

countries:

From To N. Africa ME West ME East E. Africa Europe N. America Asia

North Africa 30% 10% 10% 10% 20% 10% 10%

ME West 10% 35% 10% 5% 20% 15% 5%

ME East 10% 10% 35% 5% 5% 15% 20%

East Africa 10% 10% 20% 30% 10% 10% 10%

North Africa Algeria Libya Mauritania Morocco Tunisia

ME West Jordan Lebanon Palestine Syria

ME East Bahrain Iraq Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi UAE Yemen

East Africa Comoros Djibouti Egypt Somalia Sudan

Europe France UK Spain

N. America USA

Asia India Phillipines Japan Australia

International call basket

International calls out of the Arab

countries are 4-5 times as expensive

as the OECD countries on average,

and even the cheapest Arab country

is 11 times more expensive than

the “best in class” OECD country.

However, this is an improvement

from previous years.



International Residential Basket

1.86

2.16

2.62

2.72

2.73

2.87

2.97

3.03

3.03

3.17

3.43

4.03

4.55

4.87

5.13

5.25

6.99

8.37

17.09

0.16

0.23

3.19

3.22

1.05

4.57

- 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20



Lebanon, Ogero

Qatar, Qtel



Jordan, Orange

UAE, Etisalat

Bahrain, Batelco


Oman, Omantel






Yemen, Tele Yemen *

Palestine, Paltel


Germany, Deutsche Telekom

Canada, Bell

Korea, KT

Mexico, Telmex



Currency : USD/PPP per call, VAT Included

Fixed Usage

January 2010



OECD simple average



Arab simple average

Fixed voice basket results 2009 - 2010

Price changes 2009 - 2010:

– Algeria: Reduced line rental, increased national call charges

– Egypt: Changes in national call charges and business tariff. International call charges for additional minutes reduced significantly.

– Jordan: Changes in international call charges, no off-peak discount any more

– Lebanon: Lower fixed to mobile call charges.

– Morocco: Changes in fixed to mobile charges and reduced off-peak international charges.

– Palestine: Change in fixed to mobile charges and lower international charges.

– Qatar: Adjusted to per minute billing. No price change.

– Saudi Arabia: Change in call charge to USA

– Syria: Correction in international call charges. No actual change.

– Tunisia: Change in fixed to mobile charges

– Yemen: Reduction in international call charges to some destinations.

The gap between the Arab average and the OECD average has widened over the last year, primarily because the prices in OECD countries have gone down more than in Arab countries.

Price change analysis is based on prices in national

currency for each country.

PSTN price change 2009 - 2010

-80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40%

Algeria

Bahrain

Djibouti

Egypt

Jordan

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan *

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low

Medium

High

SOHO

SME

Res. Intn.

Fixed voice basket results 2008 - 2010

Price changes for the entire study period – Most countries have seen some price reductions

– Price increases for some users seen in Algeria, Egypt, Oman and Syria.

– General price increases in Jordan and Tunisia

– Price increase shown for Qatar due to adjustment to per minute billing. No price increase per say.

Un-weighted price change per basket across countries

– Low basket changed -3%

– Medium basket changed -4%

– High basket changed -8%

– SOHO basket changed +1%

– SME basket changed -4%

– International calls basket changed -11%

Most users of fixed telephony will have seen a price reduction over the three years.



PSTN price change 2008 - 2010

-80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Algeria

Bahrain

Djibouti

Egypt

Jordan

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan *

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low

Medium

High

SOHO

SME

Res. Intn.

Observations from PSTN basket results

The cheapest countries throughout are : (*)

– UAE , Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia

• The exact order of these may vary with usage level

• This list is based on average ranking across all five baskets, residential and business

Most of these countries have total costs below or just above the OECD average for all baskets

– Generally the Arab countries in North Africa are more expensive than the Arab countries in the Middle East.

As before, the price range for the Arab countries (cheapest to most expensive) is wider than for the OECD countries

– The cheapest OECD country is below the cheapest Arab country

– The most expensive Arab country is significantly more expensive than the most expensive OECD country

Most of the Arab countries have fixed costs well below the OECD countries, causing the usage element to dominate. This makes the overall cost grow quicker with increasing usage, something that will discourage growth in usage.

– This situation has not changed much over time

Even with significantly lower fixed cost the overall cost of using the service is higher in the Arab countries than in the OECD countries.

There is a clear lack of rebalancing in most Arab countries, where the usage revenue covers a significant portion of the fixed line cost for the operators.

International calls are significantly more expensive than in OECD countries

* Countries with gaps in the tariff information are not considered.

Fixed voice (PSTN) baskets, 2010 version

Six different basket definitions: – Defined by number of calls per month

– Residential: 20, 60, 140 and 420 calls per month

– Business: 100 and 260 calls per month

Tariffs from the incumbent operator in each country – Several tariff packages can be covered for each operator

– The results show the lowest cost option for each operator

Tariff information included in basket calculation: – Fixed charges for installation and rental

– Usage charges covering local through to national calls, calls to mobiles, and international calls to other AREGNET countries plus a few other destinations

– Structure of basket is somewhat simpler than the 2006 baskets

The results using the 2010 baskets come from a different implementation of the basket spreadsheets, and will inevitably give slightly different results due to the difference in basket structure.

Call distribution

Calls per month Total calls

Fixed to fixed Local

Fixed to fixed

National

Fixed to mobile

International

20 calls basket 20 61% 20% 17% 2%

60 calls basket 60 60% 15% 21% 4%

140 calls basket 140 58% 15% 23% 4%

420 calls basket 420 73% 17% 8% 2%

100 calls business basket 100 48% 19% 30% 3%

260 calls business basket 260 43% 23% 25% 9%

2010 OECD PSTN baskets: 20 calls/month

No national tariffs for

Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

20 calls basket

-

7.71

9.18

9.82

10.33

10.41

10.93

15.82

16.08

16.87

18.97

21.07

22.33

23.46

25.31

33.08

38.34

41.24

44.27

-

-

-

12.93

15.47

32.96

36.92

20.85

24.67

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Sudan

Syria

Libya

UAE

Bahrain

Tunisia

Algeria

Qatar

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Djibouti

Jordan

Lebanon

Oman

Mauritania

Palestine

Somalia

Morocco

Korea

Finland

New Zealand

Czech Rep.

Arab average

OECD average

USD PPP including VAT

Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average



Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

60 calls basket

-

23.31

23.46

24.15

27.76

28.32

28.96

33.67

34.47

35.02

40.00

41.48

42.51

43.27

63.46

77.91

77.99

79.10

102.16

-

-

-

19.92

21.50

50.12

63.74

45.94

37.01

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Syria

UAE

Bahrain

Qatar

Sudan

Tunisia

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Libya

Jordan

Algeria

Lebanon

Oman

Somalia

Morocco

Djibouti

Mauritania

Palestine

Iceland

Turkey

Australia

Czech Rep.

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average



Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

140 calls basket

-

46.87

47.23

47.71

49.79

64.09

64.72

68.56

69.19

74.55

76.94

78.37

81.14

81.23

103.05

109.93

135.65

170.57

251.71

-

-

-

30.31

36.12

97.92

108.67

90.07

59.61

0 50 100 150 200 250

Syria

UAE

Qatar

Bahrain

Tunisia

Saudi Arabia

Egypt

Sudan

Jordan

Algeria

Libya

Oman

Lebanon

Somalia

Morocco

Mauritania

Djibouti

Palestine

Iceland

Turkey

Mexico

Czech Rep.

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average



Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

420 calls basket

63.57

75.08

90.51

92.61

108.44

118.13

126.81

131.89

132.23

151.41

155.47

156.08

165.57

176.19

184.45

187.96

338.05

704.66

-

-

-

-

37.09

41.18

188.91

232.08

175.51

101.78

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Syria

Libya

Bahrain

Morocco

Tunisia

Algeria

Egypt

Somalia

Jordan

Mauritania

Sudan

Lebanon

Oman

Djibouti

Palestine

Iceland

Norway

Australia

Czech Rep.

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average

2010 OECD PSTN baskets:

100 calls/month, Business


Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

100 calls business basket

21.81

30.71

31.39

36.58

37.60

41.59

44.85

46.53

51.94

53.50

56.84

63.11

66.39

68.40

77.49

90.93

122.66

-

-

-

-

-

20.16

20.22

67.49

69.08

55.43

41.78

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Syria

Bahrain

Tunisia

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Algeria

Lebanon

Oman

Libya

Egypt

Jordan

Qatar

Djibouti

Somalia

Morocco

Mauritania

Palestine

Turkey

Norway

UK

Czech Rep.

Arab average

OECD average

USD PPP excluding VAT

Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average

2010 OECD PSTN baskets:

260 calls/month, Business


Yemen are included.

No F2M prices for

Syria are included.

260 calls business basket

94.12

104.38

105.22

107.96

114.75

118.51

129.45

130.68

134.01

141.89

178.41

186.87

189.61

206.88

305.00

346.79

414.80

-

-

-

-

-

30.70

36.02

156.83

169.95

177.02

86.49

-100 0 100 200 300 400

Saudi Arabia

Bahrain

UAE

Tunisia

Syria

Algeria

Jordan

Lebanon

Qatar

Oman

Libya

Somalia

Egypt

Morocco

Mauritania

Djibouti

Palestine

Norway

Turkey

UK

Mexico

Arab average

OECD average

USD PPP excluding VAT

Fixed charges

Fixed to Fixed

Fixed to Mobile

International

Discount

OECD Low & High

Arab average

OECD average

OECD Mobile basket , 2006 version

Three different basket definitions:

– Low usage, medium usage and high usage

– The low usage results will include both pre- and post-paid tariff packages

The baskets define the volumes and the structure of usage

– Volume and distribution of calls to different destinations

– Distribution of calls at different times of day

– Call durations are in the range of 1.4 to 1.9 minutes per call

Tariffs from the two dominant operators in each country

– Several tariff packages are covered for each operator

Tariff information covers:

– Fixed charges for connection and rental

– Calls to fixed network, on-net and off-net mobile, and international calls to other AREGNET countries plus a few others (see international basket on earlier page)

– Charges for SMS, MMS and voicemail calls

The results show the lowest cost option for each operator

The international calls are added to the OECD basket definition for this study.

Destinations Local National

Mobile

On-net

Mobile

Off-net

Voice

mail

SMS

On-net

SMS

Off-net

Low usage 15.00% 7.00% 48.00% 22.00% 8.00% 65.00% 35.00%

Medium usage 14.00% 7.00% 48.00% 24.00% 7.00% 65.00% 35.00%

High usage 13.00% 7.00% 47.00% 26.00% 7.00% 65.00% 35.00%

Calls / messages

per month Voice SMS MMS

Low usage 30 33 0.67

Medium usage 65 50 0.67

High usage 140 55 1.00

ToD Peak Off-peak Weekend

Low usage 48.00% 25.00% 27.00%

Medium usage 50.00% 24.00% 26.00%

High usage 60.00% 19.00% 21.00%

Mobile tariff data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of

January 2010.

– Additional clarifications have been sought from the operators and

regulators.

– Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff

information and the draft version of this report.

No tariff information available for:

– Djibouti

– Only pre-paid for Libya

– One operator only for Comoros, Palestine, Syria and Mauritania

Part of tariff information missing for:

– Kuwait (international call prices for Zain)

Otherwise two operators are covered for each country

A total of 279 tariff packages covered for 36 operators in 20 countries

Low usage mobile basket results

For the Low usage basket

both pre- and post-paid

tariffs are included.

The cheapest option is

selected regardless of

tariff type.

Most of the tariffs shown in

this graph are pre-paid

(marked with an *).

The OECD results do not include

International calls as these

are not part of the OECD

basket definitions.

The “Arab average – Intn” line

shows the equivalent average

based on the Arab basket results

Low user basket

6.95

7.58

8.44

10.37

11.50

11.68

12.00

12.49

12.73

13.48

14.22

14.61

15.24

15.32

15.37

16.60

16.97

17.96

18.06

18.37

19.56

19.73

19.92

19.98

21.30

22.53

23.85

26.28

26.86

31.47

43.18

50.85

52.90

56.93

58.03

68.46

4.37

4.91

22.25

24.85

12.53

23.11

- 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Jordan, Orange *

Algeria, ATM Mobilis *

UAE, du *

UAE, Etisalat *

Kuw ait, Zain *

Jordan, Zain *

Iraq, AsiaCell *

Bahrain, Zain BH *

Iraq, Korek *

Bahrain, Batelco *

Kuw ait, Wataniya *

Qatar, Vodafone *

Sudan, Zain SD *

Oman, Naw ras *

Oman, Oman Mobile *

Saudi Arabia, Mobily *

Egypt, Etisalat *

Algeria, Djezzy *

Qatar, Qtel *

Saudi Arabia, Al Jaw al *

Yemen, MTN *

Tunisia, Tunisie Télécom *

Tunisia, Tunisiana *

Egypt, Mobinil *

Sudan, MTN *

Libya, alMadar *

Libya, Libyana *

Mauritania, Mattel *

Yemen, Sabafon *

Syria, Syriatel *

Comoros, Huri *

Lebanon, Touch *

Morocco, IAM *

Lebanon, Alfa *

Morocco, Meditel *

Palestine, Jaw w al *

Denmark, Telenor

Finland, Elisa

Czech Republic, O2

USA, Verizon

OECD simple average

Arab simple average

USD/PPP per month including VAT

FixedVoiceMessageIntn

OECD results, minimum and maximum

OECD average

Arab average

Pre-Paid and Post-paid

Arab average - Intn

Medium usage mobile basket results




basket definitions.




Medium user basket

19.17

23.41

24.14

27.14

27.75

28.15

28.21

30.42

34.87

35.74

35.83

36.50

36.63

37.64

38.16

38.45

39.35

39.45

40.27

40.84

41.91

43.58

45.41

45.53

54.57

61.11

71.13

72.48

74.98

78.39

82.35

86.00

131.66

-

-

-

7.47

7.78

48.04

52.99

24.53

41.71

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

UAE, du

Qatar, Vodafone

Kuw ait, Zain

Iraq, AsiaCell

UAE, Etisalat

Jordan, Orange

Bahrain, Zain BH

Bahrain, Batelco

Egypt, Mobinil

Oman, Naw ras

Kuw ait, Wataniya

Yemen, MTN

Jordan, Zain

Egypt, Etisalat

Sudan, Zain SD

Yemen, Sabafon

Algeria, Djezzy

Saudi Arabia, Mobily

Oman, Oman Mobile

Tunisia, Tunisiana

Algeria, ATM Mobilis

Qatar, Qtel

Sudan, MTN

Saudi Arabia, Al Jaw al

Tunisia, Tunisie Télécom

Mauritania, Mattel

Morocco, IAM

Syria, Syriatel

Morocco, Meditel

Lebanon, Touch

Lebanon, Alfa

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jaw w al

Norw ay, Telenor

Denmark, Telenor

Canada, Bell Mobility

USA, AT&T

OECD simple average

Arab simple average




OECD average

Arab average

Post-paid

Arab average - Intn

High usage mobile basket results




basket definitions.




High user basket

35.49

38.62

41.35

44.12

45.18

47.22

51.55

53.17

55.15

56.39

56.82

57.44

58.50

58.61

59.74

59.79

59.94

62.84

63.25

63.76

63.96

65.60

70.97

72.85

93.33

108.71

111.74

114.64

117.72

118.61

120.25

154.82

189.02

-

-

-

10.27

12.74

56.05

66.41

34.70

66.90

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

UAE, du

Jordan, Orange

UAE, Etisalat

Bahrain, Zain BH

Qatar, Vodafone

Kuw ait, Zain

Bahrain, Batelco

Iraq, AsiaCell

Jordan, Zain

Oman, Naw ras

Yemen, Sabafon

Qatar, Qtel

Oman, Oman Mobile

Kuw ait, Wataniya

Algeria, Djezzy


Egypt, Etisalat

Tunisia, Tunisiana

Sudan, Zain SD

Algeria, ATM Mobilis

Yemen, MTN

Egypt, Mobinil

Saudi Arabia, Al Jaw al

Sudan, MTN

Tunisia, Tunisie Télécom

Morocco, IAM

Syria, Syriatel

Lebanon, Touch

Morocco, Meditel

Lebanon, Alfa

Mauritania, Mattel

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jaw w al

Denmark, Telenor

Netherlands, Vodafone

Portugal, Vodafone

Czech Republic, T-Mobile

OECD simple average

Arab simple average




OECD average

Arab average

Post-paid

Arab average - Intn

Mobile basket results 2009 - 2010

Changes affecting the mobile basket results 2009-2010:

– Algeria: Selective discounts introduced

– Bahrain: Price changes

– Egypt: Price changes

– Jordan: Selective discounts introduced

– Kuwait: Changes in tariffs offered

– Lebanon: Changes in tariffs offered

– Mauretania: Price changes

– Morocco: Changes in allowance

– Palestine: Package changes

– Qatar: New operator tariffs

– Saudi Arabia: Price changes

– Tunisia: Package changes

– UAE: Package changes

– Yemen: Pre-paid package change

In other countries the changes have been minimal.

The Arab average has had a minor reduction over the last year, while the OECD average has had a clear decrease.



Mobile price change 2009 - 2010

-50.0% -40.0% -30.0% -20.0% -10.0% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low

Medium

High

Mobile basket results 2008 - 2010

This graph shows the accumulated price

changes over the study period from 2008 to

2010.



Mobile price change 2008 - 2010

-50.0% -40.0% -30.0% -20.0% -10.0% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low

Medium

High

Observations from Mobile basket results

The cheapest countries throughout are :

– UAE, Jordan , Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar

• The exact order of these may vary with usage level

• Only UAE is among the top 5 for all baskets

• These are largely the same countries that have the best PSTN results

• These are also largely the same countries that came cheapest in 2009

For low usage, with pre-paid packages, only a handful of the Arab countries have price levels below the OECD average

For medium to high usage, with post-paid packages, most Arab countries are above the OECD average

The average across Arab countries is 80-100% above the OECD average.

Except for the five-six most expensive countries, the Arab countries have rather uniform price levels for mobile services.

Many operators have very few tariff packages on offer, i.e. do not make any great attempts to capture customers with tailored prices.

– There has however been an increase of the number of packages in some countries

New OECD baskets 2010

The OECD has adopted new baskets in March 2010. The key

information about the basket definitions is shown below.

– The following 6 pages show the results using the new basket definitions

– Tariff information is the same as for previous results

– New baskets include a new way of calculating call costs, and also include

the capability to cover “Selective discounts”

– Pre- and Post-paid tariffs are included for all baskets

Call distribution Volume per month

Total calls per month

Mobile to fixed

On-net Off-net Voicemail SMS

30 calls basket 30 16% 55% 25% 4% 100

100 calls basket 100 17% 52% 28% 3% 140

300 calls basket 300 14% 46% 37% 3% 225

900 calls basket 900 14% 55% 28% 3% 350

40 calls prepaid basket 40 14% 64% 18% 4% 60

400 messages basket 8 8% 55% 25% 12% 400

2010 OECD mobile basket: 30 calls/month

Please note:

No data for Djibouti and Somalia.

No international data for Kuwait.

Selective discounts included.

* marks pre-paid tariffs.

30 calls basket

6.46

12.92

16.47

18.06

18.43

18.57

20.99

21.12

21.22

23.78

24.78

25.27

27.05

32.92

39.36

39.41

62.66

67.25

67.44

95.37

0

5.40

6.02

28.24

40.85

32.98

17.19

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Jordan, Orange *

UAE, du *


Iraq, AsiaCell

Kuwait, Zain *

Oman, Nawras *

Qatar, Vodafone

Sudan, Zain SD *

Bahrain, Batelco *

Egypt, Etisalat *


Yemen, MTN


Libya, alMadar *

Syria, Syriatel *

Mauritania, Mattel

Comoros, Huri

Morocco, Meditel

Lebanon, Touch *

Palestine, Jawwal *

Norway, Telenor

Denmark, Telenor *

Turkey, Turkcell

USA, Verizon *

Arab average

OECD average

USD/PPP including VAT per month

Fixed charges

Voice calls

International

MessagesOECD average

Arab average


Please note:





100 calls basket

23.80

24.85

32.40

42.89

42.91

43.80

46.41

50.19

52.85

52.86

54.22

56.08

62.77

83.39

106.85

109.84

117.89

119.31

151.32

184.01

0

11.85

14.92

55.80

56.38

69.46

32.65

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Jordan, Orange *


UAE, du *

Kuwait, Zain

Bahrain, Zain BH

Qatar, Vodafone

Iraq, AsiaCell

Egypt, Etisalat *

Oman, Oman Mobile

Yemen, Sabafon

Sudan, Zain SD *

Tunisia, Tunisiana


Libya, alMadar *

Mauritania, Mattel

Morocco, IAM

Syria, Syriatel *

Lebanon, Touch

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jawwal

Denmark, Telenor *

Norway, Telenor

Turkey, Vodafone

Spain, MoviStar

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Voice calls

International


Arab average


Please note:





300 calls basket

39.20

54.98

80.94

90.71

97.18

97.51

102.41

107.19

111.65

118.03

119.08

122.08

137.02

208.09

223.31

245.30

248.92

283.05

367.66

457.30

0

23.23

25.78

105.80

114.69

157.70

66.04

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500


Jordan, Orange *

UAE, du

Bahrain, Zain BH

Qatar, Vodafone

Kuwait, Zain

Yemen, Sabafon

Oman, Oman Mobile

Egypt, Etisalat *

Iraq, AsiaCell

Tunisia, Tunisiana


Sudan, Zain SD *

Morocco, IAM

Libya, alMadar *

Lebanon, Touch

Syria, Syriatel

Mauritania, Mattel

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jawwal

UK, O2

Denmark, Telenor

Hungary, Pannon

Czech Republic, T-Mobile

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Voice calls

International


Arab average


Please note:





900 calls basket

144.72

157.31

180.36

194.10

211.24

211.70

217.34

233.42

265.19

298.02

299.05

312.54

355.34

518.44

600.46

608.32

621.65

816.33

987.04

1,008.40

0

28.75

31.44

285.15

324.03

392.43

136.60

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Jordan, Orange *

Bahrain, Batelco

UAE, Etisalat

Kuwait, Zain

Egypt, Etisalat

Yemen, Sabafon


Qatar, Vodafone

Oman, Oman Mobile

Saudi Arabia, Al Jawal

Tunisia, Tunisiana

Iraq, AsiaCell

Sudan, Zain SD

Morocco, Meditel

Libya, alMadar *

Lebanon, Touch

Syria, Syriatel

Mauritania, Mattel

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jawwal

Finland, Elisa

Luxembourg, LuxGSM

New Zealand, Vodafone

Hungary, Pannon

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Voice calls

International


Arab average


Please note:





40 calls prepaid basket

6.93

8.88

11.29

15.43

16.28

17.68

17.77

19.26

20.72

21.17

22.10

24.35

29.44

29.79

40.71

41.76

51.19

55.49

68.46

97.85

0

5.54

5.86

29.82

40.36

29.36

17.28

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Jordan, Orange *


UAE, du *

Egypt, Etisalat *

Iraq, AsiaCell

Kuwait, Zain

Qatar, Vodafone

Bahrain, Zain BH *

Sudan, Zain SD *

Yemen, MTN

Oman, Nawras *


Libya, alMadar *


Mauritania, Mattel

Syria, Syriatel *

Comoros, Huri

Morocco, IAM

Lebanon, Touch

Palestine, Jawwal *

Denmark, Telenor *

Norway, Telenor

Slovak Republic, Orange

USA, Verizon *

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Voice calls

International


Arab average

2010 OECD mobile basket:

400 messages/month

Please note:





400 messages basket

20.61

24.89

27.15

29.40

29.43

29.72

37.30

38.03

40.63

42.02

45.99

46.79

53.19

53.74

69.10

77.68

85.12

100.00

108.92

133.41

0

7.22

8.69

56.81

57.03

52.05

23.70

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Oman, Nawras *

Jordan, Orange *

UAE, du *


Iraq, Korek *

Sudan, Zain SD *

Tunisia, Tunisiana

Yemen, MTN

Kuwait, Zain *

Bahrain, Zain BH


Libya, Libyana *

Qatar, Vodafone

Egypt, Etisalat *

Mauritania, Mattel

Syria, Syriatel *

Lebanon, Touch *

Morocco, Meditel

Comoros, Huri

Palestine, Jawwal *

Finland, Elisa

Denmark, Telenor *

Italy, Vodafone *

Germany, T-Mobile *

Arab average

OECD average


Fixed charges

Voice calls

International


Arab average

Leased Lines basket, as defined by the OECD

Prices for 64kb/s, 2 Mb/s and 34 Mb/s national circuits

6 specific distances are used: – 2 km, 20 km, 50 km, 100 km, 200 km and 500 km

Each distance is weighted in order to calculate a weighted average price for one circuit:

The 3 bitrates are calculated and reported separately.

Where the distances in the basket would go beyond the country borders, the weights of those distances will be attributed to the longest available tariff zone.

– For example: In Bahrain a 64 kb/s circuit costs BD 140 regardless of distance. The longest possible circuit distance in Bahrain is approximately 50 km. But the weights for 100 km (20%), 200 km (5%) and 500 km (5%) are still applied to this price as the price for the longest possible circuit in order to cover 100%.

– This may bias the results for small countries with distance-sensitive prices in the sense that a relatively higher proportion of the circuits will be at maximum cost

– Small countries with no distance pricing will be favoured by this scheme.

For the Arab country price benchmarking two more bitrates are added: – 256 kb/s in order to cover a wider range of services relevant for the region, and

155 Mb/s to show the potential for future development.

– To the extent they are offered in the countries concerned.

Distance (km) 2 20 50 100 200 500

Weight 35% 20% 15% 20% 5% 5%

Leased Lines data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of January 2010.

– Additional clarifications have been sought from the operators and regulators.

– Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information and on the draft report.

No price data available for:

– Comoros

– Iraq

– Kuwait

– Somalia

– Sudan

Other countries may have data missing for specific bitrates

Due to a calculation error in 2009 the Leased Line price comparisons for 2009 has been reissued in a separate report.

64 kb/s Leased Lines basket results

The OECD data shown represent

the lowest and highest prices found

in OECD countries, and the average

across all 30 OECD countries.

64 kb/s circuit prices

127

232

254

282

381

414

441

454

479

528

572

618

694

798

816

1,762

1,981

91

1,691

441

553

- 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000

Syria

Algeria

Libya

Egypt

Jordan

Lebanon

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Tunisia

Bahrain

Oman

UAE

Yemen

Morocco

Palestine

Mauritania

Djibouti

Iceland

Czech Rep.

OECD simple average

Arab simple average

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

OECD average

Arab average

256kb/s Leased Lines basket results

Note: No equivalent OECD data exist.

256 kb/s circuit prices

407

552

734

839

860

887

957

1,015

1,060

1,088

1,144

1,275

1,389

1,623

1,731

2,506

2,843

1,230

- 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

Syria

Algeria

Egypt

Jordan

Lebanon

Libya

Tunisia

Bahrain

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Oman

Palestine

Yemen

Morocco

UAE

Mauritania

Djibouti

Arab simple average


Arab average

2 Mb/s Leased Lines basket results





2 Mb/s circuit prices

1,499

1,688

1,694

1,732

2,360

2,409

2,488

2,861

3,615

3,664

4,027

4,069

4,085

5,304

6,600

6,944

269

5,451

1,913

3,440

- 4,000 8,000

Libya

Lebanon

Egypt

Algeria

Syria

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Oman

Bahrain

UAE

Morocco

Tunisia

Jordan

Djibouti

Palestine

Yemen

Denmark

Czech Rep.

OECD simple average

Arab simple average


OECD average

Arab average






Only a few of the Arab countries

publish these prices.

The service may still be offered

though.


7,919

11,291

14,197

38,013

1,529

24,807

10,287

17,855

- 20,000 40,000

Qatar

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Morocco

Iceland

Mexico

OECD simple average

Arab simple average


OECD

average

Arab average


Note: No equivalent OECD data exist.

Only a few of the Arab countries

publish these prices.

The service may still be offered

though.


22,581

28,935

30,991

27,503

- 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Arab simple average


Arab average

Leased Line basket results 2009 - 2010

The basket results are affected by:

– Algeria: General price reductions.

– Libya: Reduction of 70% from 2 Mb/s upwards

– Oman: General price reductions

– Qatar: General price reductions

– Syria: General price reductions

No price changes recorded in other countries.

The Arab average is closing in on the OECD average

– Please note: The average is only calculated on the basis of the prices shown. As the range of countries publishing prices may change from year to year the average may also change on that basis.



Leased Line price changes 2009 - 2010

-80.0% -60.0% -40.0% -20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

64 k

256k

2 M

34 M

155M

64 k 2 M 34 M

Arab/OECD 2010 104% 239% 121%

average 2009 136% 198% 257%

2008 198% 251% 252%

Leased Line basket results 2008 - 2010

The changes over the study period

show price reductions in 7 of the 22

countries.

– Changes in Bahrain relate to a tighter

definition of the type of prices used in

2009 and 2010 than in 2008, i.e.

moving from month-by-month prices

to 1 year contracts.



Leased Line price changes 2008 - 2010

-80.0% -60.0% -40.0% -20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

64 k

256k

2 M

34 M

155M

Observations from Leased Line results

Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria and Syria have the lowest prices for National Leased Lines.

– Price levels in these countries are below or close to the OECD average

– The price ranking may vary with product

Most of the Arab countries have prices below the most expensive OECD country

– For 64 kb/s the prices in Djibouti and Mauritania stands out as very high.

– For 34 Mb/s and 155 Mb/s some of the prices that were very high last year are now not available in the public domain, and have thus not been included.

However, all Arab countries are more expensive than the OECD “best-in-class”.

Many of the Arab countries are quite small in size and this price comparison may give advantage to the tariff structure used in these small countries.

– i.e. the reality may be worse than shown here.

Broadband basket methodology

Research covering 200 ADSL service offerings from the incumbent ISP* in 18 Arab countries

Costs are presented for low speed (< 1 Mb/s) and medium speed (1-4 Mb/s) services separately.

– Low speed does not include 1024 kb/s offers

– Not all providers may offer services in both categories

– Not all providers may publish tariffs for both residential and business services

Total monthly cost calculated based on two usage profiles:

– Low usage: 1 GB and 10 hours per month, in 20 minute sessions.

– High usage: 5 GB and 30 hours per month, in 30 minute sessions.

Only “actual price” results are shown in this report.

– “Actual price” refers to the monthly cost paid by the customer, as opposed to the “Normalised” price per 1 Mb/s that can also be produced by the benchmarking system

The European data shown refer to the incumbent ISP* ADSL services in 30 European countries

Tariff data cover the cheapest form of installation, modem cost (if applicable), monthly rental, usage allowances and any usage charges.

Additional information on speed, web-space, email addresses, penalties with excess usage, and contract term duration is also included in the basic data and presented along with the cost results.

– To the extent this information is published by the provider

– Please also see the document on “AREGNET Price Benchmarking Methodology

* Incumbent ISP will normally mean the ISP owned by the incumbent operator in the country.

Broadband data issues

Price data not available for broadband services in:

– Iraq

– Kuwait

– Somalia

Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff

information and the draft report.

Most providers in the Arab countries offer speeds down towards 128

kb/s. The highest speed from many providers is 2 Mb/s or below.

– The results shown focus on speeds from 256 kb/s and upwards. This

corresponds with the general definition of broadband.

– Speeds above 2 Mb/s are available in 8 of the 18 countries

Residential low speed broadband

(below 1 Mb/s)

Low speed residential broadband services

29.72

30.78

32.07

34.27

40.31

41.74

50.83

52.62

59.00

61.07

68.14

70.19

73.48

92.11

106.00

150.51

159.13

749.54

5.21

98.31

40.42

105.64

- 100.00 200.00 300.00 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00 800.00

Egypt - 128 / 256

UAE - 64 / 256

Morocco - 128 / 256

Algeria - 32 / 256

Tunisia - 128 / 256

Bahrain - 64 / 256

Libya - 128 / 256

Yemen - 0 / 256

Oman - 128 / 512

Sudan - 64 / 256

Saudi Arabia - 128 / 256

Lebanon - 64 / 256

Jordan - 128 / 512

Syria - 64 / 256

Palestine - 64 / 256

Djibouti - 128 / 256

Mauritania - 64 / 256

Comoros - 64 / 256

Poland - 128 / 512

Malta - 2048 / 512

Europe simple average

Arab simple average

Actual prices in US$ / PPP per Month, VAT included

Low usage cost High usage cost

Lowest and highest price level in Europe

Red line = European low usage simple average

Blue line = Arab low usage simple average

European and Arab region averages

Total monthly cost

calculated based on two

usage baskets:

Low usage: 1 GB and

10 hours per month, in

20 minute sessions.

High usage: 5 GB and


30 minute sessions.

Residential medium speed broadband

(1 – 4 Mb/s)

Medium speed residential broadband services

48.75

55.50

56.27

78.37

85.66

92.50

93.25

93.98

99.05

102.67

110.02

155.94

181.71

204.21

251.46

452.37

11.69

95.31

33.07

135.11

- 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00 300.00 350.00 400.00 450.00 500.00

Morocco - 512 / 1024

Algeria - 64 / 1024

Tunisia - 512 / 1024

Qatar - 128 / 1024

Oman - 128 / 1024

UAE - 256 / 1024

Jordan - 256 / 1024


Egypt - 256 / 1024

Bahrain - 256 / 1024

Yemen - 0 / 1024

Lebanon - 256 / 1024


Syria - 256 / 1024

Sudan - 256 / 1024


Romania - 512 / 2048

Malta - 512 / 4096


Arab simple average







Total monthly cost


usage baskets:

Low usage: 1 GB and


20 minute sessions.



30 minute sessions.

Business low speed broadband

(below 1 Mb/s)

Low speed business broadband services

29.72

32.07

50.83

52.62

61.07

82.36

89.98

112.15

127.16

191.50

588.42

619.13

18.03

145.96

63.41

169.75

- 100.00 200.00 300.00 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00

Egypt - 128 / 256

Morocco - 128 / 256

Libya - 128 / 256

Yemen - 0 / 256

Sudan - 64 / 256

Bahrain - 64 / 256

Lebanon - 64 / 256

UAE - 128 / 512

Jordan - 128 / 512

Algeria - 32 / 256

Tunisia - 256 / 512

Djibouti - 128 / 512

Cyprus - 192 / 512

Malta - 2048 / 512


Arab simple average







Total monthly cost


usage baskets:

Low usage: 1 GB and


20 minute sessions.



30 minute sessions.

Business medium speed broadband

(1 – 4 Mb/s)

Medium speed business broadband services

48.80

99.05

110.02

182.32

206.35

218.97

224.53

251.46

311.39

329.99

457.52

948.63

1,029.18

11.69

159.50

57.06

339.86

- 200.00 400.00 600.00 800.00 1,000.00 1,200.00

Morocco - 512 / 1024

Egypt - 256 / 1024

Yemen - 0 / 1024

Lebanon - 256 / 1024

Jordan - 256 / 1024

Oman - 256 / 1024

Qatar - 128 / 1024

Sudan - 256 / 1024

Bahrain - 256 / 1024

UAE - 256 / 1024

Algeria - 64 / 1024

Tunisia - 384 / 1024

Djibouti - 256 / 1024

Romania - 512 / 2048

Malta - 512 / 2048


Arab simple average







Total monthly cost


usage baskets:

Low usage: 1 GB and


20 minute sessions.



30 minute sessions.

Residential vs. Business broadband prices

Low usage basket

Business to residential price relationship in Arab

countries compared to European average.

Some business services offer higher speed and more space

than comparable residential services.

The reason for the high

business price in

Tunisia is the charge

to the incumbent operator

for network access.

Low speed Medium speed

Arab simple average 159% 248%

Europe simple average 157% 173%

- 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00 300.00 350.00 400.00 450.00 500.00

Bahrain - 256 / 1024

Morocco - 512 / 1024

Algeria - 64 / 1024

Tunisia - 512 / 1024

Qatar - 128 / 1024

Oman - 128 / 1024

UAE - 256 / 1024

Jordan - 256 / 1024


Egypt - 256 / 1024

Yemen - 0 / 1024

Lebanon - 256 / 1024


Syria - 256 / 1024

Sudan - 256 / 1024


Romania - 512 / 2048

Malta - 512 / 4096


Arab simple average

Low speed (

Residential vs. Business broadband prices

High usage basket

Business to residential price relationship in Arab

countries compared to European average.

Some business services offer higher speed and more space

than comparable residential services.

The reason for the high

business price in

Tunisia is the charge

to the incumbent operator

for network access.

Low speed (

Broadband basket results 2009 - 2010

The basket results are affected by:

– Algeria: Elimination of lowest speed offers

– Bahrain: New range of packages

– Jordan: New range of packages

– Libya: Installation charge

– Qatar: Installation / modem price

– Saudi Arabia: Modem price increase, rental

reduction for high speeds

– Sudan: Lower installation prices

– Syria: Lower monthly rental

– Yemen: New range of packages with usage

limitations and lower prices.

Prices in Arab countries have gone down

significantly over the last year. But so has

prices in Europe.

Data shown cover both residential and

business prices, however, only residential

prices show as the cheapest per country.



Broadband price change 2009 - 2010

-100.0% -80.0% -60.0% -40.0% -20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low Speed, Low usage

Low Speed, High usage

Medium Speed, Low usage

Medium Speed, High usage

Broadband basket results 2008 - 2010

There have been significant price

reductions over the study period 2008 –

2010.

About half of the countries have seen price

reductions in some way



Broadband price change 2008 - 2010

-100.0% -80.0% -60.0% -40.0% -20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Low Speed, Low usage

Low Speed, High usage

Medium Speed, Low usage

Medium Speed, High usage

Observations from Broadband basket results

Speeds above 4 Mb/s appear to be offered in 8 of the countries: – Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE.

– There were 5 last year

– The prices are very different between countries

Speeds below 256 kb/s are still common in most Arab countries – Speeds in this range are hardly offered in Europe any more

For speeds above 1 Mb/s the prices are generally higher than what is found in Europe

– For low speed broadband (0.256 - 1 Mb/s) the prices in the majority of the Arab countries tend to be similar to the European average, but the speeds used in Europe will be higher.

– In Europe the most common speeds are in the range 1-4 Mb/s and above, and lower speeds are in many cases not offered at all. There is a clear move towards higher speeds, only since last year the situation has changed significantly.

The average price relationship between business and residential offering is higher for medium to high speeds in Arab countries than European countries

– Please note that specific business offerings often include higher speeds, more email and web space, and different conditions.

Many services are very basic and do not offer many additional facilities

Only some of the countries apply usage-based prices

Call cost comparison

The comparison of call cost is based on the actual cost of a 3 minute

call.

Costs are compared for Local calls, National calls, F2M calls and calls

to the USA

– At peak and off-peak times

– Off-peak meaning the lowest possible cost period

These comparisons have a much simpler methodology than the basket

comparisons shown elsewhere in this report, and will reflect the costs

for specific call types.

The results are presented with countries in alphabetical order as a

ranking of these results is not necessarily useful.

– Services with for example free calls (zero cost per call) may still have a

higher total cost to the end user

Local call comparison

Many of the countries have the

same prices for local and national

calls.

Entries with call cost of 0.00 have

free calling included in the monthly

rental.

3 minute local call

0.30

0.09

0.18

0.09

0.12

0.19

0.00

0.63

0.48

0.12

0.28

0.00

0.06

0.00

0.15

0.04

0.05

0.00

0.15

0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average

US$ PPP, VAT included

Peak

Off-peak

No data

No data

No data

No data

No data

Peak average

Off-peak average

National call comparison



rental.

3 minute national call

0.30

0.09

0.18

0.32

0.14

0.19

0.00

0.63

0.48

0.12

0.28

0.00

0.25

0.00

0.15

0.04

0.50

0.33

0.22

0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


Peak

Off-peak

No data

No data

No data

No data

Peak average

Off-peak average

Fixed to Mobile (F2M) call comparison



rental.

3 minute Fixed to Mobile call

0.79

0.17

0.55

0.59

0.51

0.66

1.76

1.10

1.63

0.44

2.46

0.50

0.50

0.00

0.45

0.11

1.13

0.33

0.76

0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


Peak

Off-peak

No data

No data

No data

No data

No data

Peak average

Off-peak average

Local vs. National

For entries with no bar in the graph,

please refer to the data in the

special local and national graphs.

3 minute local vs. national call (peak time)

0.30

0.09

0.18

0.09

0.12

0.19

0.63

0.48

0.12

0.28

0.06

0.04

0.05

0.15

0.30

0.09

0.48

0.12

0.25

0.00

0.50

0.33

0.22

0.04

0.28

0.63

0.18

0.14

0.19

0.32

0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


Local

National

Local average

National average

National vs. F2M



special local and national graphs.

3 minute national vs. F2M call (peak time)

0.30

0.09

0.18

0.32

0.14

0.19

0.63

0.48

0.12

0.28

0.25

0.04

0.50

0.22

0.79

0.17

1.63

0.44

0.50

0.00

1.13

0.33

0.76

0.59

0.66

0.51

0.55

1.10

2.46

0.11

0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


National

F2M

National average

F2M average

Making and receiving calls to/from mobile

The relationship between prices of

calls to a mobile phone and from a

mobile phone varies a lot between

countries.

To/From mobile

Peak Off-peak

Algeria 51% 51%

Bahrain -48% -44%

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt 44% 44%

Iraq

Jordan 63% 13%

Kuwait

Lebanon -6% -6%

Libya 90% 90%

Mauritania -13% -13%

Morocco 33% 33%

Oman 25% 25%

Palestine 114% 59%

Qatar 6% -25%

Saudi Arabia 45% 45%

Somalia

Sudan -9% -9%

Syria -88% -85%

Tunisia 55% 35%

UAE 0% -11%

Yemen

Average -26% -27%

+ means F2M higher than M2F

- means F2M lower than M2F

Call prices (peak time) to and from mobile phones

-100% -50% 0% 50% 100% 150%

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Cheaper to call to a

mobile than from

Cheaper to call from a

mobile than to

International call comparison (call to USA)

3 minute call to USA

2.58

2.19

14.77

5.94

0.78

1.72

2.37

2.16

4.71

2.38

1.56

3.97

2.31

2.50

0.00

2.69

4.43

1.26

2.31

5.95

3.33

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


Peak

Off-peak

No data

No data

Peak average

Off-peak average

National vs. International to USA



special national graph.

3 minute National vs. International call (peak time)

0.30

0.09

0.18

0.32

0.14

0.19

0.63

0.48

0.12

0.28

0.25

0.04

0.50

0.22

2.58

2.19

2.38

1.56

2.50

0.00

1.26

2.31

3.33

0.00

0.00

0.33

5.94

2.37

0.78

4.71

3.97

4.43

2.159

2.31

5.95

0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00

Algeria

Bahrain

Comoros

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Tunisia

UAE

Yemen

Arab simple average


National

Intn. USA

National average

Intn. USA average

Call costs 2009 - 2010

There have been some changes in call charges 2009 - 2010

– A significant rebalancing in Algeria

– An increase in local call charges in Egypt and Morocco

– Significant reductions in call charges in Oman

– Changes in international call charges in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan,

Morocco, Oman and Palestine

Observations from the call cost comparison

Prices of calls vary considerably between countries

Less than half of the countries do not offer off-peak rates for national

calls

About half of the countries do not offer off-peak rates for calls to USA

In some countries the local and/or national calls are “free”,

i.e. included in the monthly rental.

– Libya, Qatar, Somalia and UAE

In some countries there are several tariff options available, with

different call charges and fixed charges. This analysis is based on the

so called “basic” packages.

Ratios of national to international call prices indicate that rebalancing

of call charges has not yet taken place in many countries of the region

Main findings from the benchmarking study

Fixed voice telephony – Prices are on average higher in Arab countries than in OECD countries

– There is a wide spread of price levels between the Arab countries

– Rates are not rebalanced, with low fixed and high usage costs

– Especially the international call charges are higher than in OECD countries

– Prices have gone down over the last year in some countries

– The lack of rebalancing will make it difficult for the incumbent operators to perform in a competitive market

Mobile telephony – Price levels in most Arab countries compare well with OECD countries, especially for low and

medium usage

– Rather uniform prices through the region

– Many countries have reduced prices over the last year

Leased Lines – Prices for high speed circuits are generally higher than in OECD countries

– There is a wide spread of prices between the Arab countries

Broadband – Price levels are significantly higher in Arab countries than in Europe

– The speed range offered is lower in Arab countries, and prices increase rapidly with speed.

– The higher rates will inhibit broadband penetration

– Higher speeds are available in more countries than a year ago

Generally prices in Arab countries have gone down, most with Broadband services. But since prices have gone down in other parts of the world as well the gap between prices in Arab countries and prices in OECD / European countries remains.

These were the conclusions in 2009, and they are still valid in 2010!

Reference information

Exchange rates and VAT

Prices for services in Iraq are given in US$

Exchange rates taken from the Oanda web service on the 1 January 2010.

PPPs are based on World Band CPL for 2005 (published 2007, latest available).

Related to: US$ US$ PPP % Currency

Algeria 0.014150 0.028300 17.0 % DZD

Bahrain 2.680700 4.061667 0.0 % BHD

Comoros 0.002913 0.005111 0.0 % KMF

Djibouti 0.005907 0.012306 19.0 % DJF

Egypt 0.184900 0.660357 10.0 % EGP

Iraq 1.000000 2.631579 0.0 % USDx

Jordan 1.412400 2.615556 16.0 % JOD

Kuwait 3.487400 4.777260 0.0 % KWD

Lebanon 0.000672 0.001199 10.0 % LBP

Libya 0.822400 2.056000 0.0 % LYD

Mauritania 0.003875 0.010473 0.0 % MRO

Morocco 0.131100 0.238364 20.0 % MAD

Oman 2.666100 4.443500 0.0 % OMR

Palestine 0.264500 1.322500 0.0 % ILS

Qatar 0.278100 0.370800 0.0 % QAR

Saudi Arabia 0.266800 0.416875 0.0 % SAR

Somalia 0.000688 0.002292 0.0 % SOS

Sudan 0.437700 0.994773 10.0 % SDG

Syria 0.022420 0.059000 0.0 % SYP

Tunisia 0.755900 1.679778 18.0 % TND

UAE 0.272300 0.363067 0.0 % AED

Yemen 0.004920 0.013667 10.0 % YER

UK 1.612900 1.366864 17.5 % GBP

USA 1.000000 1.000000 10.0 % USD

France 1.436900 1.249478 19.6 % EUR

Purchasing Power Parities (PPP)

PPPs are used to incorporate not only the financial differences between exchange rates, but also the differences in the state of the economies as seen through the purchasing power of the citizens in each country.

– PPPs are based on an assessment of the price levels for a corresponding basket of goods and services in each country. i.e. how much the same basket costs in different countries.

– PPPs are normally stated based on the US$ or some other reference currency, e.g. Euro. This study uses the US$ PPPs calculated by the World Bank in 2007 based on 2005 data.

– PPPs are normally calculated every 4-6 years due to the effort required. CPLs can be adjusted more regularly, e.g. the OECD publishes CPLs on a monthly basis.

In order to update these values the Comparative Price Level (CPL) is used. CPL is the relationship between the PPP and the reference market exchange rate at the time the PPP was calculated.

– CPL is used together with updated, i.e. current, exchange rates to produce an “updated” PPP value.

– CPL = RatePPP / RateReference – PPPCurrent = RateMarket * CPL

The advantage of using PPPs is that the results reflect the price differences as seen by the end users in each country based on their income and other costs.

Acronyms used in the context of this report

OECD: Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development

OECD countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Rep., Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Rep., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA

AREGNET: Arab Regulators Network.

AREGNET member countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen

VAT: Value Added Tax, a consumption tax system used in most European countries and some Arab countries.

PPP:

Documents

Telecommunications Price Benchmarking for Arab Countries 2010 · 2020. 10. 5. · for Arab Countries 2010 Report from the AREGNET Price Benchmarking Study ... Email [email protected]