UAE mobile phone penetration slips in June

Mobile phone penetration in the UAE edged down in June after recording a steady growth over the past few years but it remained among the highest rates in the world, according to data by local service providers.

From a record 203.7 per cent at the end of January, the penetration rate slipped to 202.7 per cent at the end of February and 201.3 per cent a month later, showed the figures by Etisalat and Du, published in Al Ittihad newspaper.

The rate dipped to around 198.5 per cent at the end of May and nearly 198 per cent at the end of June, the report showed.

It put the total mobile phone users in the country at about 10.65 million, including 9.7 million pre-paid subscribers. Etisalat remained the dominant mobile service provider, with the number of its subscribers standing at 7.8 million at the end of June, nearly 73 per cent of the total mobile phone users in the UAE.

Experts attributed the fall in the UAE’s penetration to rapid growth in the population and a mild slowdown in subscription because of what they described as market saturation. But they noted that the UAE still has one of the highest mobile phone penetration levels in the world.

“The UAE has recorded one of the world’s highest growth rates in its mobile phone market over the past 15 years mainly because of its high per capita income and relatively advanced services…another key factor is the rapid growth in many economic sectors in the past 10 years,” a UAE economist said.

The report showed fixed phone lines stood at 1.52 million at the end of June, an average 28.4 lines for every person. Internet subscribers stood at 748,681 at the end of June, recording a growth of five per cent in the first half of 2010.
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