Saudi Arabia telecom revenue up 12% in 2012 to SR 90bn

Revenues of Saudi Arabia's telecommunications and information technology sector reached Saudi Riyal (SR) 90 Billion in 2012, an increase by 12% over 2011. The rates of Internet usage in the country has significantly over the past years and jumped from 5% in 2001 to 54.1% at the end of 2012, according to a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report Tuesday. Saudi Arabia regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) estimates the number of Internet users to 15.8 million at the end of 2012 with a population penetration of 54.1%. The total number of mobile subscriptions reached around 53 million by the end 2012, with penetration rate of 181.6%. Prepaid subscriptions constitute the majority (over 86%) of all mobile subscriptions. The total number of mobile broadband subscriptions reached 12.28 million by the end of 2012, representing a population penetration rate of 42.1%. In addition to revenues from the domestic market, investment by Saudi licensed telecom companies in foreign telecom markets have led to a rapid growth of revenues for the sector from foreign operations, from SR 455 million in 2007 to around SR 18.7 Billion (US $4.98 Billion) in 2012. Domestic revenues, however, still represent over 79% of the total telecom sector revenues of SR 90 billion (US $24 Billion) in 2012. The CITC sector's contribution to Saudi Arabia's GDP is around 2.75% compared to 4.4% in 2007. The decrease in the ICT sector's contribution is a result of rising oil prices and production rates, the SPA report said citing CITC data.