Doha – Decypha: Qatar’s telecommunication sector has contributed 1.7% of the country’s GDP, in a slight growth compared to 1.3% in 2014.
Total investments in developing telecommunication sector’s infrastructure and services in Qatar in 2016 recorded QR1.25 billion, according to a Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) report.
The competition between mobile phone service providers, who continued introducing innovative services and models, has benefited consumers, the CRA said.
Promoting efficiency and keeping competitive prices, service providers in Qatar achieved revenues of QR10 billion, same level recorded in 2015.
EBITDA margins have reflected market’s stability as in Qatar’s Ooredoo whose margin inched up from 47% to 49% in 2016, while Vodafone increased to 31% from 25%.
“Service providers are adapting well to this macro change by diversifying their businesses and becoming more efficient,” said CRA’s President Mohammed Ali Al Mannai.
Diversifying their revenue sources, around 22% of service providers’ returns were coming from data centre activities, technological equipment sale and Internet Protocol television (IP-TV).
Mobile penetration in Qatar, which came after the UAE and Bahrain, registered 176%, declining by 8% from 2015, affected by SIM deactivation and cancellations and registry procedures.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) in Qatar was recorded to be highest in Ooredoo and Vodafone Group, however, the market is still dominated by pre-paid consumers, which shaped 83% of subscriptions.
Ooreedo is still the major player in the fixed line network sector, with 97% of the market share.
By Decpha Editorial Team
