DUBLIN,IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "UAE - Telecom Country Profile 2009" report to their offering.

UAE has one of the most developed telecom markets and technologically advanced telecom infrastructures in the Gulf, and the country is ranked first in the Arab World in Networked Readiness Index (NRI) in 2009, according to the Global Information Technology Report produced by the World Economic Forum. It also stands in 7th place in the latest Business Environment Rankings for the telecoms sector of the Middle East. A position it retained despite its falling country risk rating.

UAE's telecom market has shown tremendous growth over the recent past, mainly propelled by government initiatives aimed at the deregulation of the market and introduction of competition. Mobile penetration surpassed the 200 per cent-mark in 2008 leaving less room for operators to expand in terms of new subscribers.

At the end of 2008, there were 1.64 million fixed subscribers in the country, representing a penetration rate of 34.1 per cent and a growth rate of 19.5 per cent over 2007. UAE boasts the region's 2nd highest fixed penetration, behind Israel. By the end of the first half of 2009, the number of fixed subscribers had stagnated to 1.66 million and we estimate that this number will rise to 1.68 million by the end of 2009. 'The credit crisis of the last year has hit hard in the UAE, mostly in Dubai, with many expatriates leaving the country, which is one of the causes of the stagnation in fixed lines in 2009' HOT TELECOM Isabelle Paradis said.

Growth is expected to return in 2010 at 4.1 per cent and the number of fixed subscribers is forecasted to grow by an average rate of 3.1 per cent over the next 5 years. At the end of the forecasted period, the number of fixed subscribers should have reached 1.9 million representing a penetration rate of 34.8 per cent.

The mobile sector continues to be buoyant, with a growth in number of subscribers of 28.8 per cent in 2008 alone, brining the number of mobile subscribers to 9.8 million, representing a penetration rate of 203.8 per cent, the highest in the world. With such a high rate of penetration however, growth slowed in 2009. In the first 6 months of the year, the number of mobile subscribers increased by 3.9 per cent to 10.2 million. It is estimated that mobile penetration has now reached saturation and should hover around the 200 per cent-market over the forecasted period.

UAE's Internet market is one of the most developed in the Middle East. By the end of 2008, there were 1.2 million subscribers, up 32.7 per cent from 2007. By the end of June 2009, this number is estimated to have increased by a further 7.3 per cent to 1.3 million. With an Internet penetration rate of 26.8 per cent, the UAE is the most Internet wired country in the region, after Israel. With the arrival of competition, in the form of du, the number of Internet subscribers is forecasted to continue to growth by an average of 9.5 per cent over the next 5 years to reach 1.9 million and a penetration of 34.3 per cent by the end of 2013.