Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
125
Figure 37: OIC Member Countries: Telecommunications Affordability Index (2014)
Source: Telecom Advisory Services analysisThe position of Saudi Arabia among its regional peers would indicate that the pricing of
telecommunications services, as a function of income does not remain a significant barrier of
adoption of broadband. This is also the conclusion derived from analyzing the adoption of
mobile broadband plans. The prevalence of pre-paid options among mobile broadband
subscriptions would indicate that the current offerings adequately meet the potential pricing
constraints that might exist in the country: in other words, if postpaid data plans are too
expensive, consumers tend to purchase prepaid plans, which remain quite affordable (see
table 62).
Table 62: Saudi Arabia: Pre-paid versus post-paid subscriptions (2012-2015)
2012 2013 2014 2015
Lines
(‘000’
000)
Pre-
paid
Post
paid
Lines
(‘000’
000)
Pre-
paid
Post
paid
Lines
(‘000’
000)
Pre-
paid
Post
paid
Lines
(‘000’
000)
Pre-
paid
Post
paid Data only plans 8.1 99 % 1 % 9.7 99 % 1 % 20.0 99% 1 % 22.2 99 % 1 %
Voice and data
plans 4.2 83 % 17 % 4.6 80 % 20 % 9.1 84 % 16 % 9.6 14 % 86 %
Sources: CITC; WCISOn the other hand, in the case of fixed broadband, the affordability gap exists primarily for
high-speed broadband service. As of the end of 2015, despite the availability of fast broadband
networks, only 23% of the country’s 3.5 million fixed broadband lines have a capacity of >8
Mbps. One of the reasons of limited adoption of existing ultra broadband plans is price.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
QatarOmanBahrainKuwait
Iran
SaudiaArabia
UAE
Kazakhstan
Brunei
MalaysiaAzerbaijan
SudanTunisiaMaldivesLebanonTurkey
Turkmenistan
Indonesia
JordanLibya
SurinameAlbania
Bangladesh
AlgeriaMoroccoGuyanaGabon
Uzbekistan
Yemen
Iraq
Kyrgyztan
NigeriaTajkistanDjibouPGuineaGuineaKenya
MozambiqueMozambique
TanzaniaCameroonCameroonCoted'IvoireCoted'IvoireMauritania
Uganda
AfghanistanSierraLeone
Senegal
BurkinaFaso
ComorosGambia
Guinea-Bissau
MaliBeninTogoChadNiger