Who’s who in Arab cellular rates? The highest, the lowest and the fairest! A new report from the Arab Advisors Group analyzes the cellular tariffs for 53 cellular operators in 19 Arab countries. Morocco has the highest average cost of prepaid and postpaid cellular minutes in the Arab World. Egypt offer the lowest average cellular minute costs for prepaid and postpaid. 12 of the 19 covered markets impose taxes on cellular services, these are: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. Jordan boasts the highest sales tax rates on cellular services in the region followed by Tunisia and Morocco. New research and analysis from the Arab Advisors Group reveal that Morocco has the highest postpaid average minute cost in the region followed by Mauritania. As for the prepaid average minute rates, Morocco also has the highest average rate followed by Lebanon. Egypt lies on the other extreme, having the region’s lowest average prepaid and postpaid minute rates. The analysis includes taxes collected by governments on airtime and cellular use. The Arab Advisors Group analyzed the cellular rates in the following nineteen Arab countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. In order to allow for comparisons, the report focuses on the average cellular rates of these countries’ 53 operational cellular providers. In calculating the average cellular rates, the Arab Advisors Group relied on the simple average for the packages’ rates. The average peak and off-peak minute rates in the report include the tariffs for on-net and off-net traffic. The rates mentioned in the report include all applicable taxes, representing the total costs that end users’ bear. The report also covers the airtime billing methods that the cellular operators use. A new report, “Cellular Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Telecoms Strategic Research Service subscribers on April 21, 2010. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 1,200. The 34-page report, which has 22 detailed exhibits, provides a comprehensive analysis of the cellular tariffs of the cellular operators in the Arab region. Any investment in this report will count towards an annual Strategic Research Service subscription should the service be acquired within three months from purchasing the report. Any investment in the report can also count towards attending Arab Advisors' 7th annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 7 & 8, 2010 at the Four Seasons in Amman. More information on the conference can be viewed on http://www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/schedule.htm The report covers the following cellular operators that were operational by March 2010. These are: Algerie Telecom Mobile (Mobilis), Orascom Telecom Algeria (Djezzy), Wataniya Telecom Algeria (Nedjma), Batelco (Bahrain), Zain Bahrain, VIVA Bahrain, Vodafone Egypt, MobiNil (Egypt), Etisalat Misr, Asiacell (Iraq), Korek Telecom (Iraq), Zain Iraq, Zain Jordan, Orange (Jordan), Umniah (Jordan), Xpress (Jordan), Wataniya Kuwait, Zain Kuwait, VIVA Kuwait, MTC-Touch (Lebanon), Alfa (Lebanon), Libyana (Libya), Al Madar Al Jadeed (Libya), Mattel (Mauritania), Mauritel (Mauritania), Maroc Telecom, Medi Telecom (Morocco), Inwi (Morocco -previously known as Wana), Nawras Telecom (Oman), Oman Mobile, Friendi Mobile (MVNO – Oman), Mazoon Mobile (MVNO – Oman), Renna Mobile (MVNO – Oman), Jawwal (Palestine), Wataniya Mobile (Palestine), Qtel (Qatar), Vodafone Qatar, Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Bravo (Saudi Arabia), Zain Saudi Arabia, Zain Sudan, Sudani, MTN Syria, Syriatel, Tunisie Telecom, Orascom Telecom Tunisia (Tunisiana), Etisalat (UAE), du (UAE), MTN Yemen, Sabafon (Yemen), Yemen Mobile and Y-Telecom (Yemen).

1.
Cellular Rates in the Arab World:
A Regional Comparison
Arab Advisors Group
Strategic Research Service
April 2010
Analysts: Faten Bader
Zeena Al Borgan
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2. Cellular Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison
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3. Cellular Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison
Table of Contents
Section I: Introduction..................................................................................1
Section II: Executive Summary .....................................................................2
Section III: General Comparisons .................................................................5
GDP per Capita............................................................................................5
Exchange Rates ...........................................................................................7
Sales Tax Rates ...........................................................................................8
Regulatory Landscape ..................................................................................9
Section IV: Regional Cellular Offers and Rates ............................................10
Rates and Tariffs ....................................................................................... 13
A. Postpaid Offers ........................................................................................... 14
Connection Fees ........................................................................................ 14
Minute rates (Peak and Off-Peak)................................................................. 17
Postpaid Minute Rates and Relative Pricing Status .......................................... 18
B. Prepaid Offers ............................................................................................. 20
Connection Fees ........................................................................................ 20
Minute Rates (Peak and Off-Peak) ................................................................ 26
Prepaid Minute Rates and Relative Pricing Status............................................ 27
Prepaid Cards’ Validity Periods ..................................................................... 29
Section V: Cellular Billing Methods ..............................................................31
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4. Cellular Rates in the Arab World: A Regional Comparison
List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1: Regional cellular rates comparison.....................................................4
Exhibit 2: A regional GDP per capita comparison (2008)....................................5
Exhibit 3: Exchange rates as of March 25, 2010 .................................................7
Exhibit 4: Tax rate applied on cellular rates in the Arab World (March 2010) ....8
Exhibit 5: Cellular market status (March 2010)..................................................9
Exhibit 6: Prepaid and postpaid plans by country (March 2010) ......................10
Exhibit 7: Prepaid and postpaid plans by cellular operators (March 2010).......11
Exhibit 8: Postpaid average connection fees ....................................................14
Exhibit 9: Minimum and maximum postpaid connection fees ...........................16
Exhibit 10: Postpaid average minute rates (peak and off-peak).......................17
Exhibit 11: Postpaid average minute rates (peak and off-peak), GDP per capita,
and relative pricing status .........................................................................18
Exhibit 12: Prepaid average connection fees....................................................21
Exhibit 13: Prepaid average connection fees including credit (US$) ................22
Exhibit 14: Prepaid average connection fees excluding credit (US$)................23
Exhibit 15: Prepaid average connection fees (excluding credit), GDP per capita,
and relative pricing status .........................................................................24
Exhibit 16: Minimum and maximum prepaid connection fees ...........................25
Exhibit 17: Prepaid average minute rates (peak and off-peak) ........................26
Exhibit 18: Prepaid average minute rates (peak and off-peak), GDP per capita,
and relative pricing status .........................................................................27
Exhibit 19: Prepaid recharge cards’ validity and grace periods ........................30
Exhibit 20: Split of operators according to billing methods ..............................31
Exhibit 21: Billing methods adopted by cellular operators ...............................32
Exhibit 22: Prepaid and postpaid billing methods used by cellular operators ...33
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