A total of 29 operators in thirteen Arab countries offered third generation technology (3G/3.5G) cellular services, with the most common of them being mobile Internet, followed by video calling and mobile TV, said a report.

More operators who are expected to commercially launch their 3G/3.5G services in 2010 include Orange in Jordan, Tunisie Orange Telecom in Tunisia and Wataniya Mobile in Palestine, said a recently released report  by Arab Advisors Group, a member of the Arab Jordan Investment Bank Group.

By the end of 2009, thirteen countries in the Arab World had commercial 3G/3.5G services, which allow 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.

The 76-page report from the Arab Advisors Group, which has 103 detailed exhibits, analyses and compares the 3G/3.5G services offered by twenty seven operators in the Arab world, as well as providing an in-depth profile of the 3G/3.5G services offered by each operator.

Countries that offered commercial 3G/3.5G services by year-end 2009 are: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and UAE.

This report details the offerings of twenty seven operators in twelve of these countries. Iraq’s main operators do not offer 3G services which were reportedly offered by a provincial operator.

Furthermore, Wana, the third cellular operator in Morocco, only offers 3G voice services and offers mobile Internet services to its corporate subscribers only.

The report also provides insights into 3G awareness and usage in the region based on Arab Advisors major surveys in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Tunisia.

“The Arab Advisors Group analysis of the 3G/3.5G operators revealed that all twenty seven operators offer mobile Internet,” said Danya Nusseir, Arab Advisors senior research analyst, and the author of the report.

“The local video calling service is offered by twenty two operators. Mobile TV is the third most common 3G service among the operators, and it is offered by thirteen operators.”

“Our research shows that by the end of 2009, Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen did not have commercial 3G/3.5G services,” Nusseir added.

Dr Nasser Jabari, Arab Advisors Director of research and consulting, said: “Ten more operators commercially launched 3G/3.5G services in the Arab World since April 2008. The number of cellular operators that provide 3G/3.5G services in the Arab World stood at nineteen in April 2008.”

“The substantial increase in the number of 3G/3.5G operators bodes well for the development of the Arab broadband markets,” Dr Jabari concluded. – TradeArabia News Service