Mobile data usage grows
more than 50 percent

Consumption compensates for

decrease in voice revenues

Data consumption through mobile phones continues to increase annually for both mobile operator users, Touch and Alfa (MIC operators). Alfa users consumed 25,000 TB in 2017, a 78 percent increase compared to 2016. Data consumption through the Touch network increased by 66 percent and reached 28,000 TB in 2017.

Daily data traffic at Touch has risen to 100TB, almost double the rate in 2017. Nadim Khater, Chief Commercial Officer at Touch, said that annual data consumption is expected to approach 40,000 TB by the end of 2018.

The high appetite for data consumption, according to Khater, partially compensates for the decrease in revenues from traditional voice and SMS services.

Mobile users among the two MIC operators seem to have similar trends for the most used applications. Consumption is dispersed across social media, video traffic, and search engines. WhatsApp and Facebook topped the list, followed by Instagram, YouTube, and Google surfing.



The increase was enhanced by the wider use of 4G technology and improved broadband speed, which reached 12Mb/s. Touch is deploying MIMO antenna technology, which will enhance speed and encourage additional demand for data, said Khater. New versions of smart phones and applications may require more data consumption.