"The spending levels for wireless capital expenditures vary drastically between the Arabian Peninsula countries and Non-Peninsula countries. We forecast that the Non-Peninsula sub region will outspend on cap ex through 2011, driven by Iran and Turkey. With a mobile penetration rate of 73.4% in the Middle East at the end of 2008 and the potential for new licenses to be awarded, we expect pockets of 2G growth in countries such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen," says founder and President Earl Lum.

"Given the dependency on oil for many of the countries in the region and with some economic recovery already beginning, we believe that countries on the Arabian Peninsula such as Saudi Arabia will continue to spend heavily on 3G upgrades and initial LTE networks during our forecast," says Lum.

The report includes detailed analysis for mobile operators in the Middle East including: Batelco, Etisalat, MTN, Orange, Orascom, Qtel, STC, Turkcell, Vodafone, Wataniya, and ZAIN. The report is currently available for purchase and information can be downloaded at www.ejlwireless.com .

By Robert Hoskins

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