Qatar mobile subscribers to reach 4.1m - analyst

The number of mobile subscribers in Qatar is expected to reach 4.1m by 2022, a financial analyst at Global Investment House told Arabian Business Qatar.

 “With a high mobile penetration rate of around 170 percent, we expect mobile subscriber growth rate in Qatar to mirror expected population growth rate of around 3.7 percent per annum going forward,” Umar Faruqui said.

The number of mobile subscribers in Qatar breached the 3m mark this year, with the country counting a total population of 1.9m people.

According to Global Investment House’s telecoms report, the number of mobile subscribers in Qatar grew by 2.6 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the third quarter of 2012.

The population growth rate in Qatar is expected to be higher compared to the rest of GCC due to planned infrastructure development related to the 2022 World Cup, which will require an additional influx of foreign workers.

Vodafone Qatar reached 1m customers at the beginning of 2013, adding 57,800 subscribers in the third quarter of 2012. Consumers in Qatar can now retain their existing mobile phone number when switching service providers, increasing the competition between incumbent Qtel and Vodafone Qatar.