Category: Reports

Internet Advertising In Algeria Shows 300% Growth In Q3 2008

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AlgeriaAlgeria has recorded a 300% increase in internet advertising during the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period of 2007, reports Algerian daily Le Quotidien d’Oran. This large increase is estimated at 18.6 million Algerian Dinars (US$300,500), compared to only 22 million Algerian Dinars (US$355,500) in an annual spending last year.

The Internet has become one of the main media channels used by the 59 identified advertisers across the country who have found it to be a profitable and inexpensive market, that helps them target specific potential customers.

Algeria has not reached the level of other countries in the area of online advertising yet, but it’s on its way as more major advertisers increasingly choose to explore online advertising with small budgets, pending national ADSL deployment and further development of the local content industry.

To better understand this strong increase in online advertising spending in Algeria, Med & Com, the leading online marketing agency in the country, conducted a study on fifty Algerian sites. The results revealed that the holy month of Ramadan saw a peak in online advertising, registering a record of almost 8.5 million Algerian Dinars (US$ 137,365), with 81 campaigns launched by 40 brands.

The report also reveals a strong presence for the automotive, mobile telephony and ICT sectors; The automotive sector through 17 advertisers covered 27% of the online advertising spend, closely followed by ICT and technology services companies with 22%, through 14 advertisers. The communication and web publishing sector accounts for 15% of the total spend, real esate for 8%, as air travel, food and tourism cover 3% each, leaving 14% for other sectors. 

Always according to the Med & Com report, press and news portals are increasinly attracting more and more advertisers, taking in 31% of the total online advertising spend. Professional sites get 18%, automotive related sites 17%, Youth and leisure sites another 17%, sport and football sites 11%, and mobile and ICT related sites 7%.

Strong Growth For Moroccan Internet & Mobile Phone Sectors

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MoroccoAccording to recent market indicators from the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT), the internet and mobile sectors in Morocco continue to see strong and sustainable growth.

The growth has been fueled by a boom in 3G Internet and the sustained growth of mobile telephone subscriptions.

Morocco now has more than 21.5 million customers in the mobile sector, equalling a 70% penetration rate. In terms of market share, Maroc Telecom covers 66.37% of the market, compared to 33.37% for Médi Telecom.
Of these mobile customers, most are pre-paid users, with only 4% on contract.
The recent entrance of a third mobile operator, Wana, promises more growth in the mobile market. 

As for the internet, the Morocco now has more than 650,000 subscribers; representing a growth of 37% compared with June of last year. New entrant Wana (in the 3G internet sector) holds 18% of the market in comparison to 76% for Maroc Telecom and 4% for Médi Telecom.

Regarding 3G internet penetration, it rose to around 160,000 subscribers in June 2008, with a growth rate of more than 553% in a single year, making 3G the second most popular way of accessing the Internet in Morocco, holding 24% of the market compared to ADSL’s 74%.

The number of fixed-line telephone customers has also continued to grow, recently surpassing 2.7 million, which represents a penetration rate of 9% of the population. This number encompasses residential subscribers, businesses, as well as payphones. The fixed telephony market is split almost equally by Maroc Telecom and Wana.

UAE Second Most Socially Networked Country In The World

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SynovateA recent worldwide survey by market intelligence firm, Synovate, revealed that 58% of people don’t know what social networking is, plus over one third of social networkers are losing interest.

Over 13,000 people between the ages of 18 and 65 in seventeen markets around the world took part in the survey.

Across these 17 markets surveyed, 42% of people know what online social networking is, which leaves 58% in the dark… either saying ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’.

Overall, 26% across the markets surveyed are members of social networking sites. This peaked with the Netherlands at 49%, United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 46%, Canada at 44% and the US at 40%.

Synovate’s Managing Director for the UAE, George Christodoulides, says: “The popularity in the UAE makes sense. It is a place that’s very connected to the world; a hub for cultures, business and people.”

“These sites also offer a way for people to meet — online — in a society where traditionally men and women don’t always mix freely.”

The survey also asked social networkers to name the sites they belong to. Some markets seemed to favour multiple memberships and some seemed to stick to one or two major ones. The markets where social networking aficionados favour signed up for many sites are UAE, India, Indonesia, and Bulgaria.

Thirty seven percent of all people from the UAE, 35% of South Africans and 29% of Taiwanese agreed that they had more friends online than they have in the ‘real’ world.

On a global level, users did have some reservations about social networking, with 51% saying they were aware of the dangers of social networking such as identity theft, and 36% of respondents saying they were losing interest in social networking.

# Synovate Social Networking Survey Results

Bahrain’s Mobile Penetration Rate Rises To 138%

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Flag of BahrainBahrain’s mobile penetration rate has the potential to reach 164 per cent by 2012, a penetration rate, which is already being reached in some European countries and in other parts of the Middle East.

By the end of 2007, the number of mobile subscribers in Bahrain had increased to 1.116 million, translating to a penetration rate of nearly 138 per cent.

Bahrain’s mobile market continues to produce remarkable rates of growth, in spite of the regulator’s recent insistence that operators count only active subscribers within their reported customer totals.

This was revealed by market research firm Companies and Markets in its recently released Bahrain Telecommunications Report Q3 2008.

Growth in the final quarter of the year was stronger than in all three previous quarters combined. The number of mobile customers saw a 15.7 per cent surge in Q4 of 2007, with growth being mainly driven by Zain’s expanding prepaid customer base. Zain’s prepaid customer base grew by 47.4 per cent in Q4 ’07, compared with a mere 3.1 per cent increase in the number of Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) prepaid customers.

Despite the already highly saturated nature of Bahrain’s mobile market, announced in April 2008, it was reported that the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) had invited telecoms industry players and interested parties to express interest and opinions on the planned award of a third mobile network operating licence.The regulator has asked potential applicants to give opinions regarding preferred spectrum bands and size of frequency blocks to be assigned, plus related issues including infrastructure sharing, national roaming and length of shared exclusivity period.

In separate news, reported in February 2008, it was revealed that Bahrain’s government planned to sell the majority of its shares in fixed-line incumbent Batelco over the next three years, as part of the country’s Second National Telecommunication Plan approved by the Parliament earlier in the same month.

The planned sale is aimed at enabling the full-service telecom company to operate with full independence from the government and make commercial decisions free of political influence.

# Bahrain Telecommunications Report Q3 2008

Jordan’s Internet Penetration Rate Grows To 21%

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Flag of JordanAccording to official numbers released by the Jordanian Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, the number of internet users in the kingdom reached 1.2 millions users at the end of the first half of 2008, which represents a penetration rate of more than 20.5% of the Jordanian population which currently stands at around 6 million.

The numbers show a growth of more than 1.5% happening in the second quarter of this year in comparison to the first quarter, as the rate back at the end of the first quarter was just under 19%. The penetration stood at 17% at the end of 2007.

According to the reported numbers, 16% of Jordanian households have internet access; with differences in the percentage between urban and rural areas, which is explained by the still relatively high cost of computers and internet services.

The national strategy for the telecommunications sector aims to reach an internet penetration rate of 50% by end of 2011. The government has actually lowered the sales tax on internet related services from 16% to 8% to help spread internet services and grow the internet user base in the kingdom.

# Source: Arabian Business

Growth In Tunisian Mobile And Internet Users

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TunisiaFigures recently released by the Ministry of Communication Technologies reveal a significant growth of mobile phone and internet users in Tunisia. In June 2008 the two mobile phone operators (Tunisie Telecom and Tunisiana) had a combined 8.12 million mobile phone subscribers up from 7 million twelve months earlier.

At the same point, there were 2.68 million internet users compared to 1.68 million in June 2007. The number of ADSL connections has doubled from 76,000 in 2007 to 153,000 in 2008. 27% of users have 512KB connections, and 22,000 users have a connection equal or superior to 1Mbps.

The number of companies benefiting from WiMAX connections reached 700 at the end of June 2008, and the number of subscribers to data sending through VSAT had also increased to reach 420, notably among enterprises producing software and computer systems and call centres.

# Source: TeleGeography
# Via: Wireless Tunisia

Broadband Subscribers Increase By 48% In The Middle East

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The number of broadband subscribers in the Middle East increased by 48 per cent in 2007 compared to 2006, according to a new report published by industry research company RNCOS.

The report, titled ‘Middle East Broadband Forecast to 2010‘, said that ‘the region’s soaring broadband demand has been propelled by the inadequacy of existing broadband infrastructure, and government policies promoting rapid broadband adoption as a tool for economic development’.

Among the report’s other key findings:

– In 2007, Israel dominated the Middle East broadband market having major chunk of the broadband subscribers, followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

– Egypt is anticipated to report highest growth in its broadband subscriber base among the Middle Eastern countries at a CAGR of over 83% from 2008 to 2010.

– The total number of 3G subscribers in the Middle East is expected to surpass four million by 2010 end, growing at a CAGR of around 60%.

– Throughout the Middle East region, incumbent and alternative fixed-line operators are rolling out IPTV, helping the operators better maintain their main-line base and gradually increase spend per customer in the face of falling ADSL prices.

Qatar’s Mobile Penetration Rate Re-visited

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Recently, a study by Kuwaiti-based Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGC), put Qatar’s mobile penetration at 150% as of 2007-end, behind only the UAE’s 173% penetration rate in the entire Arab world.

But Vodafone, which will be the second mobile operator in Qatar and which is preparing for a service roll out towards 2009, disagrees with those numbers, and state that the mobile penetration rate in the country stood at only 94% as of December 31, 2007.

“Recent government released reports on Qatar’s population (included in your article) state that it is near 1.5mn. Based on this and Qtel’s published customer numbers, the actual penetration is only 94%.
“Qtel subscriber base as at December 31, 2007 was 1,260,000 which divided by new population of 1,448,000 gives an 87% penetration rate. Or if you take the latest population and adjust it back to December 31, 2007 (i.e. 1,337,000) you get a more accurate 94% penetration and not 150%,” Vodafone Qatar Chief Executive Officer Grahame Maher said.

Maher said, “Also, the population in Qatar continues to change on an annual basis as expatriates arrive and leave on an average time frame of three years. Finally, with more and more capability of devices for service such as email and mobile computing we believe that many people will have multiple mobile devices. Based on this we believe there is significant growth opportunities in the country.”

An ictQATAR spokesman said, “We estimate that at the end of 2008 the mobile penetration rate for Qatar will be around 94%. As you are aware, different reports use different methodologies to determine mobile penetration numbers. Our estimate is likely lower than the number in the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation study because of the steady, significant increase in population of Qatar and our recognition of the many pre-paid users in Qatar’s market, which can lead to inflated estimates.”

He said, “Regionally, Qatar does boast of some of the highest penetration rates in fixed line and mobile and ictQATAR expects that percentage to rise considerably in future. Also, as a result of liberalisation in the telecoms market, we expect to see high speed internet penetration rise from its current rate of 37% to approximately 56% by 2012.”

# Source: Gulf News

Middle East Has World’s Second Fastest Internet Traffic Growth

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According to a new study from TeleGeography, a telecommunications research and advisory firm, international internet traffic grew 53% between mid-2007 and mid-2008, down from 61% the preceding year.

The Middle East claims the second fastest internet traffic growth in the world, with a growth rate of 97% a year since 2005. South Asia, with its booming economies, comes in first place, with an average annual rate of 103%.
The slowest growing region of the world is North America, with a 57% annual growth rate.

Internet Traffic (TeleGeography)

For the second consecutive year, total international internet capacity grew faster than total internet traffic, leading to lower utilisation levels on many internet backbones. Between 2007 and 2008 average traffic utilisation levels decreased from 31% to 29%, while peak utilisation fell from 44% to 43%. The aggregate trend toward lower utilisation of capacity belies significant regional differences. While utilisation on international links to Europe and Asia fell in 2008, they rose in the US & Canada and Latin America where traffic growth outpaced the deployment of new internet bandwidth.

The Middle East is connected to the rest of the world by only a handful of undersea cables, and was hit hard by widespread internet blackouts in late January, after the simultaneous failure of some of these undersea cables located off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

Many major telecommunications company in the region are currently involved in a number of international cable projects, with more than $1 billion of investment, to augment internet capacity for the region.

Tunisia Internet Users And E-Commerce Survey Report 2008

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Arab Advisors GroupA new Arab Advisors Group major survey of Internet users in Tunisia revealed that 36.4% of Internet users in Tunisia use e-commerce. Based on the survey results, the Arab Advisors Group estimates that Tunisia’s Internet users spent US$ 132.7 million during the past 12 months in e-commerce transactions.

The survey report, ‘Tunisia Internet users and e-commerce Survey 2008’ was released on August 20, 2008 and provides the results of a major comprehensive online survey of Internet users in Tunisia. The survey covered the Internet usage, e commerce and cellular usage and habits of the Internet users in Tunisia. The survey field work was conducted between May and July 2008.

Respondents were randomly targeted by receiving an email shot in their inbox to ask them to fill the survey in cooperation with reputable mail list providers in Tunisia. The survey report includes online replies from 1,093 respondents. Quality control checks and personal validation were conducted by Arab Advisors Group’s team. The survey was conducted on the general Internet population, including both genders and all age groups across Tunisia. The online survey yields a confidence level of 99% with a margin of error of less than 4%.

According to the survey results, 84.0% of Internet users in Tunisia have Internet access at home, 75.8% use Internet at work, while 24.0% use public hot spots. Naturally, access methods overlapped.

While the survey covered Internet users, it also probed the reasons behind why other members of the same households surveyed do not use the Internet. Based on the feedback of Internet users, computer illiteracy, lack of interest, lack of a perceived need to use the Internet and being too young to use the Internet are the main reasons for keeping non-Internet users in Tunisia from using the Internet.

The survey also revealed e-commerce adoption in Tunisia. 36.4% of Tunisia Internet users shop online or through their mobile phone. The Arab Advisors Group estimated the number of e-commerce users in Tunisia to be over 416000 and total e-commerce expenditure during the past year to be US$ 132.7 million.

“The majority of e-commerce users make electronic payments through credit cards. 64.8% of e-commerce users use credit cards as their e-commerce method of payment. Following credit cards, 27.4% of e-commerce users use prepaid Internet shopping card for their payments. ” Mr. Hussam Barhoush, Arab Advisors senior research analyst wrote in the survey report.

This survey report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group, who can provide a copy of the report’s Table of Contents and the survey questions. The survey report includes 70 pages and 82 detailed exhibits.