Telecommunications Price Benchmarking for Arab Countries 2009

Final Report from the AREGNET Price Benchmarking Study

June 2009

Prepared by:

Name Halvor Sanns

Position Director Tariff Services Tel T l +47 3 02 3400 4 3702 Email halvors@c2i.net

www.Teligen.com
Teligen, 2009. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgements Teligen wishes to thank:

The AREGNET members for feedback and support in the collection of tariff information and to TRA Bahrain for commissioning and coordinating the study on behalf of AREGNET The operators who have contributed with additional tariff information

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Contents of this report

Background on this study and the basket concept Results from the PSTN basket Results from the Mobile basket Results from the Leased Line basket Results from the Broadband basket Results from the call price comparison Summary of findings Reference information and acronyms 4 6 17 24 33 42 50 51

Page 3

The context
The benchmarking study was originally initiated by TRA Bahrain in 2008. This update for 2009 was commissioned by TRA Bahrain on behalf of AREGNET. In increasingly competitive markets it is important for regulators to be able to track the evolution of prices and analyze the impact of price change and competition on the effective prices paid by consumers. This study allows Arab countries to compare the price levels within and between countries, and also to compare with the OECD countries. Data presented in this report is comparable with data from the 2008 report. However, please note that exchange rates are diff different. t The benchmarking covers the following services:
Fixed voice (PSTN) (OECD basket equivalent) Mobile telephony (OECD basket equivalent) Leased Lines (OECD basket equivalent) Broadband ADSL (Teligen basket) Call cost for specific types of calls

The methodologies for fixed and mobile telephony and leased lines are identical to the OECD Price Benchmarking baskets, with minor changes. A separate document explaining the methodology used in this study is available. The data was collected by Teligen from public sources on the Internet. Data has subsequently b b tl been passed t national regulators f comments. d to ti l l t for t
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The Basket method for price benchmarking

Tariff information Tariff information Tariff information Tariff information Combine tariff information with a usage profile in a basket calculation engine to calculate cost of individual calls and tariff elements. Usage profile (Basket)

Basket results as et esu ts Basket results per tariff Basket results per tariff (in national currency) Basket results per tariff (in national currency) per tariff (in national currency) (in national currency)

Adjust costs for tax, currency and purchasing power to create comparable results. Tax and exchange rate adjustments. Purchasing Power.

Benchmarking results for all tariffs (in (i common currency) )

The benchmarking results show the end user cost of using the service according to the usage profile, in a consistent format.
Page 5

Fixed voice (PSTN) basket, as defined by the OECD

Five different basket definitions:
Low usage, medium usage and high usage for residential users SoHo usage (single user) and SME usage (30 users) for business Volume and distribution of calls to different destinations Distribution and duration of calls at different times of day
Volumes
Residential Low Residential Medium Residential High Business Small Business SME Total calls per month 50 100 200 150 233

The baskets define the volumes and the structure of usage

Call proportions
Fixed line 76.0% 75.0% 65.0% 67.0% 72.0% Mobile 19.0% 23.0% 31.0% 29.0% 20.0% International 5.0% 2.0% 4.0% 4.0% 8.0%

Call durations (minutes)

Fixed 3.7 - 7 3.7 - 7 3.7 - 7 1.9 - 3.1 1.9 - 3.1 Mobile 1.8 - 2.1 1.8 - 2.1 1.8 - 2.1 1.6 - 1.7 1.6 - 1.7 International 5.5 - 7.2 5.5 - 7.2 5.5 - 7.2 2.9 - 3.9 2.9 - 3.9

Tariffs from the incumbent operator in each country

Several tariff packages can be covered for each operator

Tariff information included in basket calculation:

Fixed charges for installation and rental Usage charges covering local through to national calls, calls to mobiles, and international calls to other AREGNET countries plus a few other destinations

The results show the lowest cost option for each operator

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Fixed voice (PSTN) data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of January 2009.
Additional clarifications have been sought from operators and regulators regulators. Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information, and on this report, prior to final publication.

Due to lack of published data, and lack of feedback, no data is available for:
Comoros Iraq Kuwait K it Sudan

Part of data is missing for:

Syria (no prices for calls to mobile) Yemen (no prices for national calls and fixed line)

The analysis covers 37 tariffs from the incumbent operators in 18 countries

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Low usage basket results

OECD Residential basket, Low Usage January 2009
UAE, Etisalat Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom Bahrain, Batelco B h i B t l Syria, Syrian Telecom * Qatar, Qtel Yemen, Tele Yemen * Libya, Libya Telecom Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Jordan, Jordan Orange Algeria, Algerie Telecom Lebanon, Ogero Oman, Omantel Egypt, Egypt Telecom Somalia, Somali Telecom Morocco, Morocco Maroc Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom Palestine, Paltel Turkey, Turk Telecom Sweden, Telia USA, Verizon, NY + AT&T USA V i Czech Rep. OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * d not h C ti k d do t have complete tariff data. 10 20 30 40 31.02 45.63 50 60 70 80 90 100 19.46 22.39 44.77 44 77 Tw o most expensive OECD countries 48.43 Tw o cheapest OECD countries 21.49 OECD simple average 24.59 25.53 25 53 25.75 26.52 29.42 32.55 34.37 36.99 36 99 41.28 42.81 43.17 51.11 62.75 70.53 70 53 73.49 79.33 98.16 Arab simple average

Most Arab countries have a low fixed cost, and average to high usage cost. International calls are particularly expensive (see international basket). For Arab countries the international usage is 62% of the total usage, while for the OECD it is 31%.

Currency : USD/PPP p month, VAT Included y per , Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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Medium usage basket results

OECD Residential basket, Medium Usage January 2009
Yemen, Tele Yemen * UAE, Etisalat Syria, Syria Syrian Telecom * Qatar, Qtel Bahrain, Batelco Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Libya, Libya Telecom Jordan, Jordan Orange Oman, Omantel Lebanon, Ogero Egypt, Egypt Telecom Algeria, Algerie Telecom Somalia, Somali Telecom Djibouti, Djibouti Djibouti Telecom Morocco, Maroc Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Palestine, Paltel Sweden, Telia Korea, KT Australia, Australia Telstra Czech Rep. OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * do not have complete tariff data. 20 40 41.32 56.86 60 80 100 120 140 28.32 29.24 58.49 58 49 67.64 Tw o most expensive OECD countries Tw o cheapest OECD countries 23.53 24.58 24.97 24 97 28.64 32.27 37.01 43.02 43.33 49.28 49 28 55.01 58.97 62.52 64.13 71.26 79.17 79 17 86.71 103.34 142.16 Arab simple average OECD simple average

Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Included Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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High usage basket results

OECD Residential basket, High Usage January 2009
UAE, Etisalat Qatar, Qtel Syria, Syria Syrian Telecom * Bahrain, Batelco Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom Yemen, Tele Yemen * Jordan, Orange Oman, Oman Omantel Lebanon, Ogero Libya, Libya Telecom Algeria, Algerie Telecom Morocco, Maroc Telecom Somalia, Somali Telecom Egypt, Egypt Egypt Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom Palestine, Paltel Canada, Bell Sweden, Telia Mexico, Mexico Telmex Czech Rep. OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * do not have complete tariff data. 50 100 69.21 125.76 150 200 250 300 350 32.30 42.43 102.12 102 12 118.52 Tw o most expensive OECD countries Tw o cheapest OECD countries 61.52 simple average OECD 65.32 70.44 70 44 75.17 78.70 84.11 94.13 98.92 111.02 111 02 119.61 129.12 132.20 138.66 142.19 154.65 154 65 182.65 250.38 344.78 Arab simple average

With high usage only three of the Arab countries can compare with the average OECD cost. The low fixed cost will, combined with the relatively high usage cost, create a situation where competing operators may easily attract high volume users. users Buying the low cost line from the incumbent operator, and cheaper calls from an indirect provider, may be a tempting alternative when usage is high. This may put the incumbent operator in a difficult position.

Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Included Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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SOHO basket results

OECD Business basket, SOHO January 2009
Syria, Syrian Telecom * Yemen, Tele Yemen * Tunisia, Tunisia Tunisie Telecom Bahrain, Batelco UAE, Etisalat Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Algeria, Algerie Telecom Oman, Omantel Jordan, Jordan Orange Lebanon, Ogero Qatar, Qtel Libya, Libya Telecom Egypt, Egypt Telecom Morocco, Maroc Telecom Somalia, Somalia Somali Telecom Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Palestine, Paltel Denmark, TDC Korea, KT Czech Rep Telefonica O2 Rep., Mexico OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * do not have complete tariff data. 20 40 60 51.95 62.76 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 26.12 29.15 67.36 67 36 73.03 Tw o most expensive OECD countries Tw o cheapest OECD countries 28.16 33.93 37.34 37 34 39.32 43.91 48.03 59.25 59.27 60.18 60 18 62.08 68.88 70.69 71.74 83.82 84.35 84 35 91.24 112.39 178.53 Arab i l A b simple average OECD simple average

The profile of the Small Office / Home Office basket is largely similar to the Medium Residential basket. The main d e e ce is higher o e a e a difference s g e overall usage and more international calls. The difference between the Arab and the OECD averages is smaller for g business services than for residential services.

Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Excluded Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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SME basket results

OECD Business basket, SME January 2009
Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom Syria, Syrian Telecom * UAE, UAE Etisalat Bahrain, Batelco Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Algeria, Algerie Telecom Jordan, Orange Qatar, Qtel Lebanon, Lebanon Ogero Oman, Omantel Yemen, Tele Yemen * Libya, Libya Telecom Morocco, Maroc Telecom Somalia, Somali Telecom Egypt, Egypt Egypt Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom Palestine, Paltel Norway, Telenor Denmark, TDC UK, UK BT Mexico OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * do not have complete tariff data. 2,500 960.54 1,005.50 3,077.09 3 077 09 3,273.64 2,048.62 3,493.30 5,000 7,500 10,000 Tw o most expensive OECD countries Tw o cheapest OECD countries 1,899.14 OECD simple average 2,115.65 2,137.58 Arab i l 2 137 58 A b simple average 2,201.68 2,261.94 2,803.35 2,844.84 2,923.86 2,947.11 2 947 11 3,060.37 3,167.18 3,506.19 3,715.62 4,004.05 4,518.98 4 518 98 5,995.38 6,772.44 9,802.02

The SME basket covers 30 lines and 30 users. Usage per user is higher than with the SOHO basket. basket

Currency : USD/PPP per month, VAT Excluded Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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International call basket

The international basket gives the weighted average of the cost of one call, weighted by:
Destination: 22 Arab countries 4 Western and 4 Eastern countries countries, Time of day: Residential basket with 25% peak time and 75% off-peak time Duration: Peak calls of 3 minutes off peak calls of 5 minutes minutes, off-peak

The destinations are weighted based on originating and destination countries:

From F North Africa ME West ME East East Africa North Africa ME West ME East East Africa Europe N. America Asia To N. Africa T N Af i ME West W t ME E t E Africa E East E. Af i Europe N. America A i N A i Asia 30% 10% 10% 10% 20% 10% 10% 10% 35% 10% 5% 20% 15% 5% 10% 10% 35% 5% 5% 15% 20% 10% 10% 20% 30% 10% 10% 10% Algeria Jordan Bahrain Comoros France USA India Libya Lebanon Iraq Djibouti UK Phillipines Mauritania Palestine Kuwait Egypt Spain Japan Morocco Syria Oman Somalia Tunisia Qatar Sudan Saudi UAE Yemen

Australia

Page 13

International call basket

International Residential Basket January 2009
Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Jordan, Orange Morocco, Morocco Maroc Telecom Lebanon, Ogero Qatar, Qtel Tunisia, Tunisie Telecom Algeria, Algerie Telecom Bahrain, Batelco UAE, UAE Etisalat Oman, Omantel Syria, Syrian Telecom * Libya, Libya Telecom Mauritania, Mauritel Somalia, Somali Telecom Egypt, Egypt Egypt Telecom Yemen, Tele Yemen * Palestine, Paltel Djibouti, Djibouti Telecom Germany, Deutsche Telekom Canada, Bell Korea, Korea KT Mexico OECD simple average Arab simple average
Countries marked * do not have complete tariff data. 2 4 0.97 4.93 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0.15 0.21 2.71 2 71 2.74 Tw o most expensive OECD countries 1.76 OECD simple average 2.30 2.57 2 57 2.64 2.69 2.69 2.94 3.02 3.03 3 03 3.35 4.74 4.98 4.99 5.25 7.54 7 54 7.74 10.54 16.76 Tw o cheapest OECD countries Arab simple average

International calls out of the Arab countries are 5 times as expensive p as the OECD countries on average, and even the cheapest Arab country is 20 times more expensive than the best in class OECD country. y

Currency : USD/PPP per call, VAT Included Fixed Usage

The average lines are indications of the averages across OECD countries and Arab countries covered in this study

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Fixed voice basket results 2008 2009 (based on

national currency)
Price changes 2008 - 2009: Algeria: Line rental change Egypt: Significant changes with higher line rental, higher local call charges, and lower charges for calls to mobiles. Jordan: No actual increase, 2009 data includes more international destinations and is thus a better reflection of the actual basket cost. Lebanon: Lower installation charge, and offpeak call charge to fixed lines. Morocco: New range of packages, higher line rental, simpler call charges to fixed, cheaper international calls. Oman: New packages with higher line rental, long distance charges removed Qatar: Increase in call charges to mobiles. Saudi Arabia: Reduction in international call charges. UAE: Minor change in residential international call charges, new business call charges. Libya was not included in the 2008 data. The gap between the Arab average and the OECD average has widened over the last year for residential users primarily because the prices in users, OECD countries have gone down more than in Arab countries. Price change analysis is based on prices in national currency for each country.
PSTN price change 2008 - 2009

-70%

-60%

-50%

-40%

-30%

-20%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Algeria Bahrain B h i Djibouti Egypt Jordan Lebanon

Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar

Saudi Arabia Somalia Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen

Low Medium High SOHO SME Res. Intn.

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Observations from PSTN basket results

The cheapest countries throughout are : (*)
UAE, Tunisia, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

The exact order of these may vary with usage level This list is based on average ranking across all five baskets, residential and business g g ,

Most of these countries have total costs below or just above the OECD average for all baskets
Generally the Arab countries in North Africa are more expensive than the Arab countries in the Middle East.

The price range for the Arab countries (cheapest to most expensive) is wider than for the OECD countries
The cheapest OECD country is below the cheapest Arab country The most expensive Arab country is significantly more expensive than the most expensive OECD country

Most of the Arab countries have fixed costs well below the OECD countries, causing the usage element to dominate. This makes the overall cost grow quicker with increasing usage, something that will discourage growth in usage. Even with significantly lower fixed cost the overall cost of using the service is higher in the Arab countries than in the OECD countries. There is a clear lack of rebalancing in most Arab countries, where the usage revenue covers a significant p g portion of the fixed line cost for the operators. p International calls are significantly more expensive than in OECD countries
* Countries with gaps in the tariff information are not considered.
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Mobile basket , as defined by the OECD

Three different basket definitions:

Calls / messages per month Low usage Medium usage High usage

Low usage, medium usage and high usage The low usage results will include both pre- and post-paid tariff packages Volume and distribution of calls to different destinations Distribution of calls at different times of day
Voice 30 65 140 SMS 33 50 55 MMS 0.67 0.67 1.00 Destinations Low usage Medium usage High usage Local 15.00% 14.00% 13.00% National 7.00% 7.00% 7.00% Mobile On-net 48.00% 48.00% 47.00% Mobile Off-net 22.00% 24.00% 26.00% Voice mail 8.00% 7.00% 7.00% SMS On-net 65.00% 65.00% 65.00% SMS Off-net 35.00% 35.00% 35.00%

The baskets define the l Th b k t d fi th volumes and th structure of usage d the t t f

Call durations are in the range of 1.4 to 1.9 minutes per call Several tariff packages are covered for each operator
ToD Low usage Medium usage High usage Peak Off-peak Weekend 48.00% 25.00% 27.00% 50.00% 24.00% 26.00% 60.00% 19.00% 21.00%

Tariffs from the two dominant operators in each country

Tariff information covers:

Fixed charges for connection and rental Calls to fixed network, on-net and off-net mobile, and international calls to other AREGNET countries plus a few others (see international basket on earlier page) Charges for SMS, MMS and voicemail calls

The results show the lowest cost option for each operator p p The international calls are added to the OECD basket definition for this study.
Page 17

Mobile tariff data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of January 2009.
Additional clarifications have been sought from the operators and regulators. Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information and the draft version of this report.

No tariff i f N t iff information available f ti il bl for:

Djibouti Somalia Syria One operator only for Comoros, Palestine, Qatar(*) and Mauritania

Part of tariff information missing for:

Iraq (International call prices for AsiaCell) Kuwait (international call prices for Zain)

Otherwise two operators are covered for each country A total of 248 tariff packages covered for 32 operators in 19 countries
* There is only one active operator in Qatar.
Page 18

Low usage mobile basket results

Low user basket
Pre-Paid and Post-paid
Jordan, Orange * UAE, du * UAE, Etisalat * Iraq, Korek * Kuwait, Kuwait Zain * Jordan, Zain * Bahrain, Zain BH * Saudi Arabia, Mobily * Bahrain, Batelco * Oman, Oman Mobile * Kuwait, Wataniya * Sudan, MTN * Oman, Nawras * Sudan, Zain SD * Tunisia, Tunisie Tlcom Saudi Arabia, Al Jawal * Qatar, Qtel * Tunisia, Tunisiana * Algeria, Djezzy * Algeria, Algeria ATM Mobilis * Egypt, Mobinil Libya, alMadar * Libya, Libyana * Egypt, Etisalat * Yemen, MTN * Mauritania, Mattel Comoros, Huri Morocco, Meditel * Morocco, IAM Palestine, Jawwal * Lebanon, Touch * Lebanon, Alfa Denmark, Sonofon * Sweden, Tele 2 Comviq p , Spain, MoviStar USA, AT&T * OECD simple average Arab simple average 10 4.00 4.45 20.57 25.14 12.77 25.13 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 10.36 10.51 OECD 10.68 11.20 11.63 11 63 11.77 13.26 13.99 14.20 14.45 14.66 15.01

average

Arab average Arab average - Intn

For the Low usage basket both pre- and post-paid tariffs are included. The cheapest option is selected regardless of tariff type. Most of the tariffs shown in this graph are pre-paid (marked with an *).

15.39 16.00 16.88 17.04 17.36 18.10 18.24 19.71 19 71 19.88 22.37 23.12 23.56 26.01 28.03 38.67 47.16 48.53 68.51

Fixed Voice Messages Intn.

83.58 84.22

The OECD results do not include International calls as these are not part of the OECD basket definitions definitions. The Arab average Intn line shows the equivalent average based on the Arab basket results

OECD results, minimum and maximum

Page 19

USD/PPP per month including VAT

Medium usage mobile basket results

Medium user basket
Post-paid
UAE, du UAE, Etisalat Bahrain, Zain BH Bahrain, Batelco Oman, Oman Nawras Jordan, Orange Jordan, Zain Tunisia, Tunisie Tlcom Oman, Oman Mobile Tunisia, Tunisiana Saudi Arabia, Mobily Sudan, Zain SD Algeria, Djezzy Kuwait, Zain Egypt, Mobinil Kuwait, Wataniya Qatar, Qtel Algeria, ATM Mobilis Egypt, Etisalat Yemen, MTN , Saudi Arabia, Al Jawal Sudan, MTN Morocco, IAM Mauritania, Mattel Comoros, Huri Morocco, Meditel Lebanon, Alfa Lebanon, Lebanon Touch Palestine, Jawwal Libya, alMadar Sweden, Tele 2 Comviq Finland, Elisa Canada, Bell Mobility USA, AT&T OECD simple average Arab simple average 27.07 28.42

OECD average 28.89

30.28 34.91 34 91 35.48 36.90 Arab average 36.97 37.97 38.30 Arab average - Intn 39.43 39.81 39.96 40.16 40.64 42.31 42.48 42.56 43.05 44.79 45.52 47.37 56.46 64.78 77.02 90.45 111.81 112.73 112 73 129.91 182.26 7.37 10.45 43.44 52.99 24.51 55.62 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Fixed Voice Messages Intn.

The OECD results do not include International calls as these are not part of the OECD basket definitions definitions. The Arab average Intn line shows the equivalent average based on the Arab basket results

OECD results, minimum and maximum

Page 20

USD/PPP per month including VAT

High usage mobile basket results

High user basket
Post-paid
UAE, Etisalat UAE, du Jordan, Orange Kuwait, Zain Bahrain, Bahrain Zain BH Bahrain, Batelco Oman, Nawras Jordan, Zain Qatar, Qtel Oman, Oman Mobile Tunisia, Tunisiana Saudi Arabia, Mobily Algeria, Djezzy Kuwait, Wataniya Algeria, ATM Mobilis Sudan, Zain SD Egypt, Mobinil Yemen, MTN Saudi Arabia, Al Jawal Tunisia, Tunisie Tlcom , Sudan, MTN Morocco, IAM Egypt, Etisalat Mauritania, Mattel Comoros, Huri Morocco, Meditel Lebanon, Alfa Lebanon, Lebanon Touch Palestine, Jawwal Libya, alMadar Finland, Elisa Denmark, Sonofon Slovak Republic, T-Mobile Spain, MoviStar OECD simple average Arab simple average 42.34 42.95

OECD average 48.03

48.35 48.71 48 71 51.29 55.09 55.56 56.78 57.15 58.93 59.77

Arab average Arab average - Intn

60.67 61.13 64.74 65.98 70.13 70.35 70.95 72.94 76.00 76.13 76.67 125.94 138.67 145.24 155.61 156.25 156 25

Fixed Voice Messages Intn.

213.15 236.64 13.88 14.56 77.91 78.67 37.77 85.41 50 100 150 200 250

The OECD results do not include International calls as these are not part of the OECD basket definitions definitions. The Arab average Intn line shows the equivalent average based on the Arab basket results

OECD results, minimum and maximum

Page 21

USD/PPP per month including VAT

Mobile basket results 2008 2009 (based on national

currency)
Mobile price change 2008 - 2009

Changes affecting the mobile basket results:

Algeria: Many new tariffs Bahrain: change in some per-paid tariffs per paid elements Egypt: Price reductions Iraq: International call charges reduced Jordan: Price reductions and changes in tariffs offered Kuwait: Changes in tariffs offered Lebanon: Changes in tariffs offered Morocco: Price reductions Oman: Price reductions and new tariffs Palestine: P i structure changes P l ti Price t t h Qatar: Price reductions and new tariffs Saudi Arabia: New tariffs Tunisia: New tariffs UAE: Pre-paid p p price structure change g

-40.0% -30.0% -20.0% -10.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Algeria

Bahrain

Low Medium

Comoros

High

Djibouti

Egypt

Iraq

Jordan

Kuw ait

Lebanon

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Oman

In other countries the changes have been minimal. The Arab average has not changed much over the last year, while the OECD average has had a clear decrease.
Price change analysis is based on prices in national currency for each country.

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Tunisia

UAE

Page 22
Yemen

Observations from Mobile basket results

The cheapest countries throughout are :
UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait

The exact order of these may vary with usage level Only UAE is among the top 5 for all baskets These are largely the same countries that have the best PSTN results

For low usage, with pre-paid packages, only a handful of the Arab countries have price levels below the O C average OECD For medium to high usage, with post-paid packages, most Arab countries are above the OECD average The Th average across A b countries i 80 100% above th OECD Arab t i is 80-100% b the average. Except for the five-six most expensive countries the Arab countries five six countries, have rather uniform price levels for mobile services. Many operators have very few tariff packages on offer, i.e. do not make any great attempts to capture customers with tailored prices.
Page 23

Leased Lines basket, as defined by the OECD

Prices for 64kb/s, 2 Mb/s and 34 Mb/s national circuits 6 specific distances are used:
2 km, 20 km, 50 km, 100 km, 200 km and 500 km

Each distance is weighted in order to calculate a weighted average price for one circuit:
Distance (km) Weight 2 35% 20 20% 50 15% 100 20% 200 5% 500 5%

The 3 bitrates are calculated and reported separately. p p y Where the distances in the basket would go beyond the country borders, the weights of those distances will be attributed to the longest available tariff zone.
For example: In Bahrain a 64 kb/s circuit costs BD 140 regardless of distance. p g The longest possible circuit distance in Bahrain is approximately 50 km. But the weights for 100 km (20%), 200 km (5%) and 500 km (5%) are still applied to this price as the price for the longest possible circuit in order to cover 100%. This may bias the results for small countries with distance-sensitive prices in the sense that a relatively higher proportion of the circuits will be at maximum cost Small countries with no distance pricing will be favoured by this scheme.

For the Arab country price benchmarking two more bitrates are added:
256 kb/s in order to cover a wider range of services relevant for the region, and 155 Mb/s to show the potential for future development. p p To the extent they are offered in the countries concerned.
Page 24

Leased Lines data issues

Tariff data was researched from operator websites in the first weeks of January 2009.
Additional clarifications have been sought from the operators and regulators. Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information and on the draft report.

No price data available for:

Comoros Iraq Kuwait Somalia Sudan

Other countries may have data missing for specific bitrates

Page 25

64 kb/s Leased Lines basket results

64 kb/s circuit prices
Syria Libya Egypt Jordan Lebanon Tunisia Saudi Arabia Algeria Bahrain Qatar UAE Oman Yemen Morocco Palestine P l ti Mauritania Djibouti Iceland Czech Rep. OECD simple average Arab simple average 200 400
100 808 96 193 217 300 325 350 354 405 410 457 483 484 542 555 637 1,410 1,516

Arab A b average

The OECD data shown represent the lowest and highest prices found in OECD countries, and the average across all 30 OECD countries countries.

OECD average 333

451

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

Page 26

256kb/s Leased Lines basket results

256 kb/s circuit prices
Syria Egypt Jordan J d Libya Lebanon Tunisia Bahrain Algeria Saudi Arabia Qatar Oman Palestine Yemen Morocco UAE Mauritania Djibouti Arab simple average 500
967 199 564 660 672 676 701 788 801 827 839 967 995 1,084 1,129 1,351 2,005 2,175

Arab average

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

Note: No equivalent OECD data exist.

Page 27

2 Mb/s Leased Lines basket results

2 Mb/s circuit prices
Egypt Lebanon Syria Saudi Arabia Qatar Oman Algeria Morocco Bahrain UAE Tunisia Jordan Libya Djibouti Palestine Yemen Mauritania Denmark Czech Rep. OECD simple average Arab simple average 247 1,302 1,327 1,778 1,879 2,039 2,418 2,553 2,802 2,807 2 807 2,860 2,978 3,211 3,786 4,058 5,150 5,419 15,082

Arab A b average

The OECD data shown represent the lowest and highest prices found in OECD countries, and the average across all 30 OECD countries countries.

OECD average
4,446 1,826 3,615

4,000

8,000

12,000

16,000

20,000

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

Page 28

34 Mb/s Leased Lines basket results

34 Mb/s circuit prices
Qatar Egypt Saudi Arabia Algeria Morocco Libya Iceland Mexico OECD O C simple average Arab simple average 20,000
1,683 21,358 6,108 8,682 11,074 25,526 26,450 64,365

Arab average

Only a few of the Arab countries publish these prices. The service may still be offered though. though

OECD 9,210
23,701

40,000

60,000

80,000

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

The OECD data shown represent the lowest and highest prices found in OECD countries, and the average across all 30 OECD countries countries.

Page 29

155 Mb/s Leased Lines basket results

155 Mb/s circuit prices
Egypt Saudi Arabia Qatar Algeria Libya Arab simple average 50,000
72,300 17,364 22,571 23,905 76,579 221,079 --->

Arab average

Only a few of the Arab countries publish these prices. The service may still be offered though. though

100,000

150,000

200,000

Monthly prices in US$ PPP, VAT excluded

Note: No equivalent OECD data exist.

Page 30

Leased Line basket results 2008 2009 (based on

national currency) The basket results are affected by:
Algeria: General price reductions. Bahrain: No price reduction (2009 data based on 1 year contract tariff, y , 2008 was based on open term contract tariffs). Jordan: Slight price increase for 256 kb/s, long distances. Morocco: Slight price increase for 64 kb/s. Oman: Slight price increase for 64 kb/s, below 100 km. Saudi Arabia: Price reductions for circuits below 100 km Tunisia: Price increase for 64 kb/s, all distances
-80.0% Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Q t Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria y Tunisia UAE
64 k 256k 2M 34 M 155M

Leased Line price changes 2008 - 2009

-60.0%

-40.0%

-20.0%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

No price changes recorded in other countries. ti The Arab average is closing in on the OECD average for low speeds (<= 2 Mb/s):
Arab/OECD average 2009 2008 64 k 136% 198% 2M 198% 251% 34 M 257% 252%

Price change analysis is based on prices in national currency for each country.

Yemen

Page 31

Observations from Leased Line basket results

Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Syria have the lowest prices for National Leased Lines.
Price levels in these countries are below or close to the OECD average The price ranking may vary with product

The majority of the Arab countries have prices below the most expensive OECD country
For 64 kb/s the prices in Djibouti and Mauritania stands out as very high high. For 2 Mb/s the prices in Mauritania stands out as very high. For 34 Mb/s and 155 Mb/s the prices in Libya appear on the high side

For speeds up to 2 Mb/s the Arab average is in line with the OECD average.
For higher speeds the prices in Arab countries appear higher than in the OECD countries

However, most Arab countries are more expensive than the OECD best-inclass. Many of the Arab countries are quite small in size and this price comparison may give advantage to the tariff structure used in these small countries.
i.e. the reality may be worse than shown here.

Page 32

Broadband basket methodology

Research covering 148 ADSL service offerings f R h i i ff i from the i h incumbent ISP* in 18 A b countries b i Arab i Costs are presented for low speed (< 1 Mb/s) and medium speed (1-4 Mb/s) services separately. Low speed does not include 1024 kb/s offers Not all providers may offer services in both categories p y g Not all providers may publish tariffs for both residential and business services Total monthly cost calculated based on two usage profiles: Low usage: 1 GB and 10 hours per month, in 20 minute sessions. High usage: 5 GB and 30 hours per month in 30 minute sessions. month, sessions Only actual price results are shown in this report. Actual price refers to the monthly cost paid by the customer, as opposed to the Normalised price per 1 Mb/s that can also be produced by the benchmarking system The European data shown refer to the incumbent ISP* ADSL services in 30 European countries Tariff data cover the cheapest form of installation, modem cost (if applicable), monthly rental, usage allowances and any usage charges. Additional information on speed, web-space, email addresses, penalties with excess usage, and contract term duration is also included in the basic data and presented along with the cost results. To the extent this information is published by the provider Please also see the document on AREGNET Price Benchmarking Methodology AREGNET
* Incumbent ISP will normally mean the ISP owned by the incumbent operator in the country.
Page 33

Broadband data issues

Price data not available for broadband services in:
Iraq Kuwait K it Palestine Somalia

Speed assumptions f upload speed h d to b made f S d i for l d d had be d for:

Saudi Arabia

Regulators have been offered the opportunity to comment on the tariff information and the draft report. Most providers in the Arab countries offer speeds down towards 128 kb/s. The highest speed from many providers is 2 Mb/s or below.
The results shown focus on speeds from 256 kb/s and upwards. This corresponds with the general definition of broadband.

Page 34

Residential low speed broadband (below 1 Mb/s)

Low speed residential broadband services
Algeria - 32 / 256 Morocco - 128 / 256 Egypt - 128 / 256 UAE - 64 / 256 Tunisia - 128 / 256 Bahrain - 64 / 256 Libya - 128 / 256 Oman - 128 / 512 Sudan - 64 / 256 Jordan - 128 / 512 Saudi Arabia - 128 / 256 Lebanon - 64 / 256 Syria - 64 / 256 Djibouti - 128 / 256 Mauritania - 64 / 256 Yemen - 64 / 256 Comoros - 64 / 256 Switzerland - 100 / 300 Cyprus - 192 / 512 Europe simple average Arab simple average p g 100.00 20.33 42.39 29.82 137.08 200.00 European and Arab region averages Lowest and highest price level in Europe 21.87 28.59 29.28 29 28 30.79 37.81 41.54 45.48 57.64 65.15 65.38 66.95 70.62 143.00 147.56 163.16 644.26 671.32

Red line = European low usage simple average Blue line = Arab low usage simple average

300.00

400.00

500.00

600.00

700.00

800.00
Page 35

Actual prices in US$ / PPP per Month, VAT included Low usage cost High usage cost

Residential medium speed broadband (1 4 Mb/s)

Medium speed residential broadband services
Morocco - 512 / 1024 Tunisia - 512 / 1024 Algeria - 64 / 1024 Qatar - 128 / 1024 Jordan - 256 / 1024 Oman - 128 / 1024 UAE - 256 / 1024 Egypt - 256 / 1024 Saudi Arabia - 256 / 1024 Lebanon - 256 / 1024 Bahrain - 256 / 1024 Sudan - 256 / 1024 43.47 52.77 56.36 75.33 82.50 83.68 92.54 97.61 129.46 157.01 162.80 268.08

Red line = European low usage simple average Blue line = Arab low usage simple average

Ireland - 128 / 1024 Malta - 512 / 2048 Europe simple average Arab simple average -

21.26 64.88 37.66

Lowest and highest price level in Europe

European and Arab region averages 150.55

50.00

100.00

150.00

200.00

250.00

300.00

Actual prices in US$ / PPP per Month, VAT included

Page 36
Low usage cost High usage cost

Business low speed broadband (below 1 Mb/s)

Low speed business broadband services
Morocco - 128 / 256 Egypt - 128 / 256 Libya - 128 / 256 Sudan - 64 / 256 Lebanon - 64 / 256 Jordan - 128 / 512 Bahrain - 64 / 256 UAE - 128 / 512 Algeria - 32 / 256 Djibouti - 128 / 512 Yemen - 64 / 256 Tunisia - 256 / 512 Switzerland - 100 / 1000 Cyprus - 192 / 512 Europe simple average Arab simple average 100.00 200.00 28.10 42.39 34.77 European and Arab region averages 248.87 300.00 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00 800.00 900.00 1,000.00
Page 37

28.59 29.28 45.48 65.15 90.56 97.52 114.29 114 29 173.93 192.88

Red line = European low usage simple average Blue line = Arab low usage simple average

606.98 644.26 897.52

Lowest and highest price level in Europe

Actual prices in US$ / PPP per Month, VAT included Low usage cost High usage cost

Business medium speed broadband (1 4 Mb/s)

Medium speed business broadband services
Morocco - 512 / 1024 Egypt - 256 / 1024 Jordan - 256 / 1024 Lebanon - 256 / 1024 Oman - 256 / 1024 Qatar - 128 / 1024 Sudan - 256 / 1024 UAE - 256 / 1024 Algeria - 64 / 1024 Bahrain - 256 / 1024 Djibouti - 256 / 1024 Tunisia - 512 / 1024 Ireland - 128 / 1024 Austria - 2048 / 2048 Europe simple average Arab simple average 200.00 61.64 European and Arab region averages 422.30 400.00 600.00 800.00 1,000.00 1,200.00 1,400.00 1,600.00 21.26 160.42 Lowest and highest price level in Europe 43.47 97.61 166.03 183.59 213.91 219.92 219 92 268.08 439.07 463.03 511.96 1,008.97 1,451.91 Red line = European low usage simple average g p g Blue line = Arab low usage simple average

Actual prices in US$ / PPP per Month, VAT included Low usage cost High usage cost
Page 38

Residential vs. Business broadband prices

Low speed (<1 Mb/s), low usage broadband
21.87 192.88 28.59 28.59 29.28 29.28 29 28 30.79 173.93 Qatar Bahrain Libya Oman Sudan Saudi Arabia Djibouti Yemen Comoros 41.54 114.29 45.48 45.48 57.64 65.15 65.15 66.95 147.56 606.98 644.26 644.26 671.32 Europe simple average Arab simple average 29.82 34.77 137.08 248.87 Sudan Europe simple average Arab simple average 37.66 61.64 150.55 422.30 268.08 268.08 Lebanon UAE Saudi Arabia 92.54 439.07 129.46 157.01 183.59 162.80 511.96 Jordan 75.33 219.92 82.50 166.03 83.68 213.91

Medium speed (1-4 Mb/s), low usage broadband

43.47 43.47 52.77 1,452 ---> Algeria 56.36 56 36 463.03

Algeria Morocco Egypt gyp UAE

Morocco

Tunisia

The reason for the high business price in Tunisia is the charge to the incumbent operator for network access.

Oman

Bahrain B h i

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

200

400

600

800

1,000

US$/PPP per m onth, VAT included Residential Business

US$/PPP per m onth, VAT included Residential Business

Business to residential price relationship in Arab Arab simple average Europe simple average countries compared to European average.

Low speed p 182% 117%

Medium speed p 280% 164%

Page 39

Some business services offer higher speed and more space than comparable residential services.

Broadband basket results 2008 2009 (based on

national currency)
Broadband price change 2008 - 2009

The basket results are affected by:

Algeria: Reduced monthly rental Djibouti: Reduced monthly rental j y Egypt: Change in usage allowance Jordan: Not an actual increase, but the incumbent access charge was not registered in the 2008 data Morocco: Reduced monthly rental Oman: Change in package range, and monthly rental Qatar: Price structure change for business Sudan: Reduced prices UAE: Reduced monthly rental

-100.0% Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuw ait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine

-80.0%

-60.0%

-40.0%

-20.0%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

Low Speed Low usage Speed, Low Speed, High usage Medium Speed, Low usage Medium Speed, High usage

Prices in Arab countries have gone down significantly over the last year. But so has prices in Europe, and the relative difference stays basically the same.

Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE

Price change analysis is based on prices in national currency for each country.

Page 40
Yemen

Observations from Broadband basket results

Speeds above 4 Mb/s appear only to be offered by incumbents in 5 of the countries:
Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria. Th prices are very diff The i different between countries tb t ti Price difference between lowest and highest price level is 3064% for low speed services, and 2321% for medium/high speed.

Speeds below 256 kb/s are common in most Arab countries For speeds above 1 Mb/s the prices are generally higher than what is found in Europe
For low speed broadband (0.256 - 1 Mb/s) the prices in the majority of the Arab countries tend to be similar to the European average, but the speeds used in Europe will be higher. p g In Europe the most common speeds are in the range 1-4 Mb/s and above, and lower speeds are in many cases not offered at all. There is a clear move towards higher speeds, only since last year the situation has changed significantly.

The average price relationship between business and residential offering is higher for Arab hi h f A b countries th E t i than European countries ti
Please note that specific business offerings often include higher speeds, more email and web space, and different conditions.

Most services are very basic and do not offer many additional facilities Only some of the countries apply usage-based prices
Page 41

Call cost comparison

The comparison of call cost is based on the actual cost of a 3 minute call. Costs C t are compared f L d for Local calls, N ti l ll National calls and calls t th USA l ll d ll to the
At peak and off-peak times Off-peak meaning the lowest possible cost period

These comparisons have a much simpler methodology than the basket comparisons shown elsewhere in this report, and will reflect the costs for specific call types. The results are presented with countries in alphabetical order as a ranking of these results is not necessarily useful.
Services with for example free calls (zero cost per call) may still have a higher cost to the end user

Page 42

Local call comparison

3 minute local call
Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen Arab simple average
0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 00 0.06 0.20 0.26 0.28 0.00 0.64 0.08 0.17 0.08 Peak average Off-peak average 0.18

No data

Many of the countries have the same prices for local and national calls. Entries with call cost of 0.00 have free calling included in the monthly rental. rental

No data
0.12

No data
0.18

No data
0.03 0.05

Peak Off-peak

No data
0.14 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70

US$ PPP, VAT included

Page 43

National call comparison

3 minute national call
Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen Arab simple average
0.33 0 33 0.00 0 00 0.25 0.06 0.20 0.26 0.51 0.08 0.34 Peak average p g Off-peak average 0.18 0.39

No data

No data
0.14

No data
0.18 0.00 0.64

Entries with call cost of 0.00 have free calling included in the monthly rental. rental

No data
0.03 0.47 Peak Off-peak

No data
0.24

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

US$ PPP, VAT included

Page 44

Local vs. National

3 minute local vs. national call (peak time)
Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen Arab simple average
0.00 0.10 0.14 0.20 0.24 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.030.03 0.05 0.33 0.47 Local National 0.06 0.06 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.26 0.26 0.28 0.51 0.64 0.64 0.18 0 18 0.18 0.12 0.14 0.08 0.18 0.18 0.39 0.08 0.08 0.17 0.34 Local average National average

For entries with no bar in the graph, please refer to the data in the special local and national graphs graphs.

US$ PPP, VAT included

Page 45

International call comparison (call to USA)

3 minute call to USA
Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Q t Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen Arab simple average 0 2
3.58 1.18 2.31 6.05 1.05 2.29 2 29 2.50 2.49 2.60 5.55 1.64 2.18 Peak average Off-peak average 14.48 5.88

No data

No data
0.95

No data
2.17 2.10 4.83

No data
4.27 Peak Off-peak

10

12

14

16

US$ PPP, VAT included

Page 46

National vs. International to USA

3 minute National vs. International call (peak time)
Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen Arab simple average
0.00 0.24 1.00 2.00 3.00 3.58 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 0.03 0.47 1 18 1.18 0.33 4.27 National 2.31 6.05 Intn. USA 0.64 0.51 0.20 0.26 0.00 0.25 0.06 1.05 2.29 2.50 2.49 2.60 5.55 0.18 0 18 2.17 2.097 4.83 0.14 0.95 0.18 0.39 5.88 0.34 0.08 1.64 2.18 National average Intn. USA average

For entries with no bar in the graph, please refer to the data in the special national graph graph.

US$ PPP, VAT included

Page 47

Call costs 2008 2009 (based on national currency)

Very few call charges have actually changed 2008 2009
No changes in basic national call charges and basic international call charges Some changes in local call charges (see below) The range of tariff packages has expanded in many countries, and alternative call charges may often be available. available

Changes in local call charges:

Egypt: Local call charges have increased with 30%

and are still below the average

Lebanon: Off peak charges for local calls are introduced Oman: New tariffs have higher peak and lower off-peak charges than before, last year had one charge at all times.

Page 48

Observations from the call cost comparison

Prices of calls vary considerably between countries About half of the countries do not offer off-peak rates for national calls Off-peak discounts for international calls are generally quite small In in some countries the local and/or national calls are free, i.e. included in the monthly rental.
Libya, Qatar and UAE

In some countries there are several tariff options available, with different call charges and fixed charges. This analysis is based on the so called basic packages. Ratios of national to international call prices indicate that rebalancing of call charges has not yet taken place in many countries of the region

Page 49

Main findings from the benchmarking study

Fixed i telephony Fi d voice t l h
Prices are on average higher in Arab countries than in OECD countries There is a wide spread of price levels between the Arab countries Rates are not rebalanced, with low fixed and high usage costs Especially the international call charges are higher than in OECD countries Prices have gone down over the last year in some countries The lack of rebalancing will make it difficult for the incumbent operators to perform in a competitive market Price levels in most Arab countries compare well with OECD countries, especially for low and countries medium usage Rather uniform prices through the region Many countries have reduced prices over the last year Prices for high speed circuits are generally higher than in OECD countries There is a wide spread of prices between the Arab countries Price levels are significantly higher in Arab countries than in Europe The speed range offered is lower in Arab countries countries, and prices increase rapidly with speed. The higher rates will inhibit broadband penetration Higher speeds are available in more countries than a year ago

Mobile telephony

Leased Lines Broadband

Generally prices in Arab countries have gone down, most with Broadband services. But since prices h i i have gone d down i other parts of th world as well th gap b t in th t f the ld ll the between prices i in Arab countries and prices in OECD / European countries remains.
Page 50

Reference information
Exchange rates and VAT
Related to: Algeria Bahrain Comoros Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan Syria Tunisia UAE Yemen US$ 0.014370 2.667600 0.002609 0 002609 0.005791 0.182200 1.000000 1.422900 3.469200 0.000677 0.798700 0.003973 0.116900 2.604500 0.246500 0.274900 0.266700 0 266700 0.000730 0.456600 0.021640 0.708900 0.272400 0.005007 US$ PPP 0.028740 4.041818 0.004577 0 004577 0.012065 0.650714 2.631579 2.635000 4.752329 0.001208 1.996750 0.010738 0.212545 4.340833 1.232500 0.366533 0.416719 0 416719 0.002432 1.037727 0.056947 1.575333 0.363200 0.013908 % 17.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 00% 19.0 % 10.0 % 0.0 % 16.0 % 0.0 % 10.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 20.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 00% 0.0 % 10.0 % 0.0 % 18.0 % 0.0 % 10.0 % Currency DZD BHD KMF DJF EGP USDx JOD KWD LBP LYD MRO MAD OMR ILS QAR SAR SOS SDG SYP TND AED YER

Prices for services in Iraq are given in US$ Exchange rates taken from the Oanda web service on the 2 February 2009. PPPs are based on World Band CPL for 2005 (published 2007 latest available) 2007, available).

Page 51

Acronyms used in the context of this report

OECD: Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development OECD countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Canada Czech Rep Denmark Finland Rep., Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Rep., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland Turkey, UK, Sweden Switzerland, Turkey UK USA VAT: Value Added Tax, a consumption tax system used in most European countries and some Arab countries. PPP: Purchasing Power Parity, exchange Parity rates adjusted for the purchasing power of consumers in each country. Used in international comparisons to adjust for market differences. This study uses data from the World Bank. Bank CPL: Comparative Price level. The relative factor between market exchange rates and PPP. Used to calculate the PPPs from current market exchange rates. Service: A telecommunications service Basket: A theoretical usage profile describing the usage volumes across different types of calls. The basket shall include all important elements of the service, including fixed cost elements. Tariff: The description of all the end user prices related to a service Tariff element: The part of a tariff describing the price(s) for a single type of call or service. Basket calculation: The process where the Basket is applied to the individual tariff in order to calculate the cost of the individual tariff elements and the overall cost cost. Basket result: The cost of using the service as described in the Basket. Re-balancing: The process through which the p prices of individual Tariff elements will cover their own cost, and not subsidise other Tariff elements.

Page 52