Upside for Media Tablet Market in the Middle East and Africa

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) media tablet market recorded a 2% quarterly decline in shipments during the second quarter of 2014 to total 3.95 million units, according to IDC. However, the MEA market remains the world’s fastest growing region as it continues to be an area of focus.

via IDC

PC Market in Middle East and Africa Returns to Growth

The Middle East and Africa PC market brought seven successive quarters of year-on-year declines to a halt in Q2 2014, posting long-awaited annual growth of 2.2% to total 4.5 million units.  The desktop segment grew 2.9% year on year to reach 1.8 million units, and portable PCs expanded 1.7% over the same period to total 2.7 million units.

via IDC

Transmedia: Ten New Creative Projects from Arab Countries

Dia Sud Med, a project co-funded by Euromed Audiovisual as part of which audiovisual students from Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon developed ten transmedia projects, has ended.

But its web series, storytelling websites and phone apps are just getting started.

via Euromed

BYOD is Driving Wi-Fi Hotspot Demand in the Middle East

Wi-Fi hotspots are very popular among tech-savvy Middle East consumers. In late 2013, U.S. WiFi company Aruba Networks reported it expected a 30% growth for Wi-Fi demand in the Middle Eastern region and the company had invested most heavily in that part of the world.

Driving the growth is an increasing trend to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) as well as cloud computing developments.

via BuddeComm

Middle East and North Africa Telecom will Reach $96 Billion

Driven by strong mobile handset data growth, telecoms service revenue in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will grow at a CAGR of 2.9% during 2013–2018 (mobile at 3.3% and fixed at 2.8%), to reach $96 billion in 2018.

The market will continue to be dominated by mobile – mobile retail revenue will grow from $50.4 billion in 2013 to $59.1 billion in 2018.

via Analysys Mason

Explore a Map of the Middle East Telecom Cable Infrastructure

The Middle East Telecommunications Map focuses on 16 countries in the Middle East, and depicts all submarine cables that are currently active in or that traverse the Middle East, as well as cables that are in advanced stages of planning.

via TeleGeography

What’s Driving Internet Usage in the Middle East and Africa?

From 2009 to 2013, international bandwidth usage grew 61 percent per year within the Middle East and 69 percent annually in Africa — that’s a seven-fold and eight-fold increase, respectively.

Intra-regional bandwidth growth for both regions is outpacing global growth — averaging 82 percent annually in the Middle East and 88 percent per year in Africa over that span.

via TeleGeography

3G Smartphones Drive Mobile Internet in Emerging Markets

Sub-$50 smartphone introduction is one of the most transcendental events to take place in 2014, as mass availability will mean empowering under-penetrated populations by providing them access to the benefits of a Global Networked Economy.

According to new study findings, by the end of 2014, almost one in every three mobile subscriptions in Africa and the Middle East will be on 3G or more advanced networks.

via Pyramid Research

Outlook for Global Mobile Phone User Population at 4.55 Billion

eMarketer expects 4.55 billion people worldwide to use a mobile phone in 2014. Mobile adoption is slowing, but new users in Asia-Pacific in addition to the Middle East and Africa will drive further increases.

Between 2013 and 2017, mobile phone penetration will rise from 61.1% to 69.4% of the global population.

via eMarketer

Social Ad Spending Growing Fast in the Middle East and Africa

Social network advertising spend is on the rise around the world, and spending per user is going up in every region. North America far outpaces any other region by this metric, according to eMarketer. Advertisers will invest $32.82 on social network advertising per social network user in North America this year.

However, overall, social network ad spending is growing most quickly in the Middle East and Africa.

via eMarketer