UAE telecoms sector grows 6.6% in 2013

The communications sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was worth AED29.18 billion (USD7.94 billion) in 2013, up 6.6% from AED27.38 billion the previous year, with much of the growth coming from mobile services. The annual report from the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) says that the cellular penetration rate stood at 193% as of end-December 2013, while revenues from mobile services rose 6.3% year-on-year, with the increase attributed to the continuing rise in popularity of more lucrative post-paid subscriptions as opposed to pre-paid plans. Broadband internet subscribers numbered 1.04 million at end-2013, up 9.1% from a year earlier, while the number of fixed lines in service rose 9% to 2.08 million.