Financial analysts are excited about the prospects for the mobile telecoms sector in Saudi Arabia, but I believe that 2015 promises to be a bumper year for mobile customers in Saudi Arabia too. Increased competition is going to be great for everyone with a mobile phone in the Kingdom.

1. Saudi Arabia telecoms sector set for a transformative 2015
January 2015
By Karim Benkirane, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia
Financial analysts are excited about the prospects for the mobile telecoms sector in Saudi
Arabia, but I believe that 2015 promises to be a bumper year for mobile customers in
Saudi Arabia too. Increased competition is going to be great for everyone with a mobile
phone in the Kingdom.
At Virgin Mobile we are working hard to be right at the front of the customer revolution
that is sweeping our industry.
The Saudi Arabian telecoms sector is already the largest in the Middle East. There are over
56 million mobile phone subscribers – around double the number of people living in Saudi
Arabia, and one of the highest rates of mobile penetration in the world.
As an industry, our revenue was SAR77 billion last year. That came after a decade of
amazing growth that began with the decision taken in 2002 to liberalise the sector.
Financial analysts are predicting about five per cent further growth in the industry in
2015.
Across the industry as a whole, data is an important part of that growth.
Saudi Arabia is a young, tech-centric country. Our own research shows that 6 in 10 people
spend at least four hours on their smartphones. For a quarter, that is over eight hours.
Two-thirds of people own two or more mobile-enabled devices. On top of their
smartphones, a third of people in the Kingdom spend at least four hours per day using a 3G
enabled tablet.
Data and connectivity is one way Saudi Arabia leads the region, but under the wise
supervision of the Communications and Information Technology Commission Saudi Arabia’s
telecoms industry has been very much leading in structural developments too.
In 2006, Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to allow mobile number portability, which
makes it easier for customers to switch providers.
Last year, Virgin Mobile’s own launch marked another important development for the
industry - we were the first of a new type of mobile company to launch in Saudi Arabia, in
a far-sighted move by CITC to bring further competition to the market.
In the industry we call companies like Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia ‘Mobile Virtual Network
Operators’. Essentially we build our businesses on the existing infrastructure. That means
we can be completely focused on customer experience.
That is why CITC’s decision to allow a new type of mobile phone company in Saudi Arabia
is far-sighted and why 2015 is going to be a bumper year for Saudi Arabian mobile phone
users. In Saudi Arabia that means a great year for everyone, twice over.
As an industry, we also need to look far ahead. Unlike in Saudi Arabia, worldwide there is
still work to be completed before everyone has access to a mobile phone and a reliable
mobile network. But in the future it is going to be far from enough to connect just human
beings.

2. The emerging trend in information and communications technology is the Internet of
Things. This is the connection of machines. Why is this useful? Because it provides real-
time information about performance and enables real time control. The systems in an
office building, a factory, a company or even a whole industry can be connected, allowing
them to be run much more efficiently.
Predictions vary for the development of the Internet of Things, but it is likely to be rapid.
Experts believe there will be well over 20 billion devices connected worldwide by 2020.
Today Saudi Arabia is a leader in mobile. This year promises to extend that. No doubt, the
Kingdom will also be a leader in the future in the Internet of Things too.