During 2003–2010, the ICT spending has grown at a CAGR of almost 19% to reach a value of US$12 billion. The ICT spending for the period 2013–2015 is expected to be about US$40 billion in the UAE, of which approx. US$30.4 billion will be in communications, according to a report.
Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) which published the executive summary of its report on the UAE ICT highlighted the salient features of the UAE ICT infrastructure development with a focus on market-size, ICT spending and key players. The report also discussed in detail ICT indicators, regulatory environment and identifies potential opportunities for investments.
According to Markaz, the UAE presents the second largest ICT market in the GCC region after Saudi Arabia in terms of capital and volume of spending. In the UAE, ICT market has registered impressive growth driven majorly by investments made in communications sector. The UAE has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world at 173.7% as of Mar-2013. Youthful demographics and rising per capita income have placed ICT retailers in a favourable position with steady demand for smart phones, gaming consoles and computer systems with advanced configurations.
In the recently released GITR – 2013 report by World Economic Forum, the UAE stands at 2nd place in the world and the first in the Middle East and Africa region in the “Government Usage of ICT” index. In terms of “Network Readiness Index” it came at 25th place in the world, only second to Qatar (which is at 23rd place) in GCC region.
At the beginning of 2012, both Du and Etisalat deployed their mobile broadband 4G networks, capable of delivering high-speed, long-term evolution (LTE) mobile data services to their customers. Both operators are claiming that the newly built network infrastructure can provide consumers with speeds more than 100 Mbps. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the first countries in the region to launch 4G networks. Upgradation of existing networks and telecom operators’ strategy to shift towards tapping data revenues would result in continuous spend in telecommunications category.
The report notes that ICT is a dynamic and ever-changing sector. This is more so in the GCC countries because of the on-going structural changes. The ICT sector is very crucial to project the GCC as an increasingly preferred region for investors and businesses. While the European and American markets have matured, the GCC is still experiencing fast growth, even slightly better than other emerging markets. During the slowdown of 2008–2009, while Global ICT spending reduced by 3%, led by decline in the America (−4.4%) and Europe (−6.9%), the ICT spending in the Middle East grew by 6.6% .