The Cellular Competition Intensity Index for 2011 ranked Lebanon in 19th place among 19 countries in the Arab world, unchanged from 2010 but down from 15th place in 2007 and 11th place in 2006, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.
The index rates the intensity level of competition in the region’s cellular markets by comparing the state of every market relative to the other markets.
The index, designed by the Arab Advisors Group, takes into account nine categories, with each category assigned with a weight based on its importance as an indicator of competitive behavior.
The categories include the number of licensed and expected operators in 2011, the number of working operators, the market share of the largest operator, the number of pre-paid plans, the number of post-paid plans, the availability of smart phone plans, the availability of corporate offers, the availability of 3G services, and the availability of international long distance competition.
The index added the availability of smart phones packages to the 2011 index, in line with the increased adoption of mobile broadband and smart phone usage in the MENA region, which contributes to overall market competitiveness.
Lebanon received a score of 33.80 percent, way below the regional average of 58.14 percent, but up from 31.2 percent in 2010.
The Arab Advisors Group considered Saudi Arabia to have the most competitive cellular market in the region, as it has four operational and licensed operators and offers 19 prepaid plans and 3 postpaid plans, while it benefits from the availability of smart phone plans, corporate offers, 3G services and international long distance competition.
The rankings of countries like Algeria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania improved from 2010; those of Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged; while the rankings of Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen regressed year-on-year.
