26 January 2016
DOHA: The telecom sector in Qatar has witnessed strong growth over the past few years as total cellular phone subscriptions has grown about 44 percent from 2011 to 2014.
Mobile phone subscriptions in Qatar jumped about 1 million during the period, according to Ministry for Information and Communications Technology (ictQatar) data. Total mobile phone subscriptions swelled from 2.3 million in 2011 to 3.31 million in 2014.
Rising population, falling prices of mobile devices and call rates in Qatar were major factors behind jump in mobile phone subscription. The population in Qatar jumped from 1.7 million at the end of 2011 to 2.23 million at the end of 2014, according to the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.
"Qatar economy is growing very fast and there are many mega development projects going on. Growing economy and ongoing mega projects has attracted expatriates into country, leading to rise in population. Rising population is positively co-related to number of cell phone users," said a senior official of a telecom company.
In the last four-five years, call rates in Qatar have declined significantly which has also encouraged people to buy more mobile devices and making calls. Along with call rates, prices of mobile phones, especially smartphones- have fallen substantially over the past few years, prompting users to use more than one phones.
"Now it is very common among customers to keep more than one phone. We have seen customers demanding one high end smart phone for professional use while another low priced basic phone for personal use," said a staff in mobile phone showroom in Matar Qadeem.
Total mobile phone subscriptions base remained somewhat stable in Qatar in 2014 compared to previous year. Cellular phone subscriptions stood at 3.30 million in 2014 compared to 3.31 million in 2013. Highest annual growth in the last four years was seen in 2013. Total mobile subscriptions grew by 27 percent to 3.31 million in 2013 from 2.6 million in 2012. A year before total number subscriptions in Qatar grew by about 13 percent to 2.6 million in 2012 from 2.3 million in 2011.
Rising use of internet and social networking sites, especially by young users, has also helped to in telecom sector's growth. Around 71 percent of the population in Qatar uses smartphones to connect to the internet in 2014, said a recent report by ictQatar.
The young population in Qatar aged 15 to 24 has grown from 14 percent of the population in 2000 to 15.4 percent in 2012. Nearly 45 percent of Qatar's entire population visits a social media website at least once every day, as per ictQatar data.
DOHA: The telecom sector in Qatar has witnessed strong growth over the past few years as total cellular phone subscriptions has grown about 44 percent from 2011 to 2014.
Mobile phone subscriptions in Qatar jumped about 1 million during the period, according to Ministry for Information and Communications Technology (ictQatar) data. Total mobile phone subscriptions swelled from 2.3 million in 2011 to 3.31 million in 2014.
Rising population, falling prices of mobile devices and call rates in Qatar were major factors behind jump in mobile phone subscription. The population in Qatar jumped from 1.7 million at the end of 2011 to 2.23 million at the end of 2014, according to the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.
"Qatar economy is growing very fast and there are many mega development projects going on. Growing economy and ongoing mega projects has attracted expatriates into country, leading to rise in population. Rising population is positively co-related to number of cell phone users," said a senior official of a telecom company.
In the last four-five years, call rates in Qatar have declined significantly which has also encouraged people to buy more mobile devices and making calls. Along with call rates, prices of mobile phones, especially smartphones- have fallen substantially over the past few years, prompting users to use more than one phones.
"Now it is very common among customers to keep more than one phone. We have seen customers demanding one high end smart phone for professional use while another low priced basic phone for personal use," said a staff in mobile phone showroom in Matar Qadeem.
Total mobile phone subscriptions base remained somewhat stable in Qatar in 2014 compared to previous year. Cellular phone subscriptions stood at 3.30 million in 2014 compared to 3.31 million in 2013. Highest annual growth in the last four years was seen in 2013. Total mobile subscriptions grew by 27 percent to 3.31 million in 2013 from 2.6 million in 2012. A year before total number subscriptions in Qatar grew by about 13 percent to 2.6 million in 2012 from 2.3 million in 2011.
Rising use of internet and social networking sites, especially by young users, has also helped to in telecom sector's growth. Around 71 percent of the population in Qatar uses smartphones to connect to the internet in 2014, said a recent report by ictQatar.
The young population in Qatar aged 15 to 24 has grown from 14 percent of the population in 2000 to 15.4 percent in 2012. Nearly 45 percent of Qatar's entire population visits a social media website at least once every day, as per ictQatar data.
© The Peninsula 2016
