PSTN lines in the Arab World continue their decline in 2009. Twenty fixed line operators in fifteen Arab countries served 27.8 million fixed line subscriptions by end of September 2009 down from 29.2 million at year end 2008, a drop of 4.6%. A new report from Arab Advisors Group analyzes and ranks 20 fixed service operators in fifteen Arab countries by September 2009. Telecom Egypt and Saudi Telecom (STC) stand out as the largest Arab fixed line operators in terms of subscribers.

1. A Scorecard of Key Performance
Indicators of Fixed Operators in the
Arab World
Arab Advisors Group
Strategic Research Service
February 2010
Analyst: Danya Nusseir
Faten Bader
Arab Advisors Group
A member of the Arab Jordan Investment Bank Group
PO Box 2374
Amman 11821 - Jordan
Tel. 962.6.5828849
Fax. 962.6.5828809
arabadvisors@arabadvisors.com
www.arabadvisors.com
This report has been delivered to Client as part of the subscription to the Arab Advisors Group
Strategic Research Service to be used exclusively by its employees.

2. Copyright notice: Copyright 2010 by Arab Advisors Group. All rights reserved. No material contained
in this report may be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, selling, distribution or in any way transfer of any
direct or indirect information from this report which is the property of Arab Advisors Group, removing,
erasing or hiding from view any copyright, trademark, confidentiality notice, mark or legend appearing
on Arab Advisors Group products or any form of output is strictly prohibited, and will be under legal
responsibility. The information contained in this report has been obtained from sources we believe to
be reliable, but neither its completeness nor accuracy can be guaranteed. Opinions expressed are
based on our interpretation of the available information, and are subject to change.
Feedback: Our clients’ satisfaction is of our utmost concern. We welcome all feedback regarding our
research and products. Please send us your notes on this report, what you found useful in it and
future research directions that would help you in your business. Send feedback emails to:
arabadvisors@arabadvisors.com

3. Table of Contents
Section I: Executive Summary................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Section II: Overview ..............................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Section III: General Comparisons ..........................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Section IV: Fixed Line Operators ............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Section V: Operators Financial Performance ..........Error! Bookmark not defined.

4. List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1: Fixed line and Integrated Communication Providers (ICPs) by
December 2009........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 2 : Population of examined countries (2008, September 2009)
................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 3: A regional ‘GDP per capita’ comparison (2008) ...Error! Bookmark
not defined.
Exhibit 4: Fixed line operators by December 2009 ........ Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Exhibit 5: Fixed line regulatory framework (December 2009)............Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 6: Arab World’s mainlines (2008)..........Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 7: Ranking of operators by mainlines (2008) .... Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Exhibit 8: Arab World's mainlines (2008, September 2009) Error! Bookmark
not defined.
Exhibit 9: Regional mainlines penetration rates (September 2009) ...Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 10: Regional mainlines’ penetration rates (2008) ...Error! Bookmark
not defined.
Exhibit 11: Mainlines revenues (YTD September 2009). Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Exhibit 12: Mainlines revenues (2008).............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 13: % of mainlines revenues versus % of mainlines subscribers
(YTD September 2009) ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 14: % of mainline revenues versus % of mainline subscribers
(2008) ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 15: Regional fixed line operators' ARPU (2008) Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Exhibit 16: Regional mainlines operators' ARPU (September 2009)...Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 17: EBITDA margin comparison per operator (2008, YTD
September 2009) sorted by EBITDA ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 18: EBITDA margin comparison per operator (2008, YTD
September 2009) sorted by EBITDA % .......Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 19: EBITDA margin comparison per group (consolidated results)
(2008, YTD September 2009) sorted by EBITDA ..... Error! Bookmark not
defined.

5. Exhibit 20: EBITDA margin comparison per group (consolidated results)
(2008, YTD September 2009) sorted by EBITDA % Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Exhibit 21: Net profit comparison per operator (2008, YTD September
2009) sorted by net profit...........................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 22: Net profit comparison per operator (2008, YTD September
2009) sorted by net profit margin % ..........Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 23: Net profit comparison per group (consolidated results) (2008,
YTD September 2009) sorted by net profit..Error! Bookmark not defined.
Exhibit 24: Net profit comparison per group (consolidated results) (2008,
YTD September 2009) sorted by net profit % ......... Error! Bookmark not
defined.