Jordan Telecommunications Report Q3 2014, New Report Launched

The outlook for Jordan's telecoms market received a welcome boost this quarter, after it emerged that Zain had agreed to acquire 4G spectrum and a licence from the government. Previously, the three mobile operators had not bid in a September 2013 auction, believing that the market was not ready for 4G and citing increased pressure on finances from heightened telecoms taxes. Zain's decision, therefore, represents an upside risk to BMI's 3G/4G growth forecast for Jordan. While Orange and Umniah have reportedly expressed interest in also acquiring 4G licences, the current financial pressures that these operators are facing, suggest they have limited capacity and willingness to invest in frequency spectrum on top of rolling out next generation networks. This is particularly true of Orange, which criticised the decision of the TRC to charge the operator JOD156.4mn (USD220.11mn) for renewal of its 2G licence. A further JOD142mn (USD200mn) would be needed to obtain 4G spectrum and licences for Orange, and therefore, it appears that Zain will gain a first mover advantage in the 4G market. The financial pressures on the Jordanian operators do not look set to ease up this year, and we see this as a significant risk to investors in the market.

Key Data

• Jordan's mobile market grew by 12.3% in 2013, although this masks a contraction of 0.6% in Q413.
• Mobile ARPU continued its downward trend, with BMI estimating a 17.7% y-o-y decline in FY13.
• The fixed-line sector also contracted in FY13, with the number of subscriptions shrinking by 5% during that period.
• The internet sector remains the strongest performing sector in the telecoms market, following an impressive growth of 51.4% in total subscriptions during FY13.

Spanning over 93 pages, “Jordan Telecommunications Report Q3 2014” report covering the SWOT, Industry Forecast, Market Overview, Competitive Landscape, Company Profile, Methodology.

Know more about this report at : - http://mrr.cm/ZA7