A new Arab Advisors Group report reveals that during the period between December 2009 and November 2011, 3G/3.5G services were launched in four more countries; increasing the number of Arab countries with 3G/3.5G services to 17. The most common 3G/3.5G service offered by the operators is mobile Internet, followed by video calling and mobile TV. As for LTE services, they were commercially available in three Arab countries by January 2012; Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. By November 2011, 17 countries in the Arab world had commercial 3G/3.5G services. The third generation technology (3G/3.5G) allows mobile operators to provide an array of mobile services that require higher speeds. These services include: Local and international video calling, mobile Internet (broadband Internet), mobile TV, video mail, video monitoring and multiplayer gaming. A new report, “LTE & 3G/3.5G Cellular Services in the Arab World” was released to Arab Advisors Group's Communications Strategic Research Service subscribers on December 22, 2011. Countries that offered commercial 3G/3.5G services by November 2011 are: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. 3G/3.5G services in Iraq are offered only by a provincial operator. Furthermore, Yemen Mobile offers “EV-DO Rev. A” technology in certain areas in Yemen. The report also provides insights into 3G awareness and usage in the region based on Arab Advisors major surveys in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Oman. “The Arab Advisors Group analysis of the 3G/3.5G operators revealed that all 36 3G operators analyzed offer mobile Internet. The local video calling service is offered by 30 operators. Mobile TV is the third most common 3G service among the operators, and is offered by 16 operators,” Mohammed Al-Shawwa, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst said. “Our research shows that since December 2009, nine more operators in the Arab world commercially launched 3G/3.5G services.” Al-Shawwa added. “By January 2012, three Arab countries had commercially launched LTE services; Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. LTE services are commercially offered by five operators in these countries; Mobily, STC and Zain in Saudi Arabia, Etisalat in the UAE and Viva in Kuwait.” Al
