Saudi Arabia has the most competitive cellular market in the region, the Arab Advisors Group's Cellular Competition Intensity Index for 2011 said. Saudi Arabia has four operational and licensed operators and offers 19 prepaid plans and 3 postpaid plans, while it benefits from the availability of smart phone plans, corporate offers, 3G services and international long distance competition, the Group said. A report issued by Wireless Intelligence, the research arm of GSMA trade organization, said STC ranks in the top 20 mobile networks in the world according to data collected at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 showing mobile operator group global ranking by revenue. The report also revealed that while mature mobile markets like the US, Western Europe, Japan and South Korea continue to generate the big dollars for the mobile industry, the future growth is coming from new telecom economies. Saud Al Daweesh, CEO, STC Group, said STC inclusion in the top 20 list is due not only to its being the biggest telecoms operator in the region, but also to international expansion beyond its local base, which began with the formation of a strategic partnership with Binariang GSM Sdn the principle shareholder of Maxis Telecommunications, and its subsidiary PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler (NTS) with an aggregate $3.05 billion investment. Recent statistics showed that there are now 300 million mobile subscribers in MENA alone, a region in which STC is the major player, and given the company's active presence in countries that have virtually unlimited potential for growth as mobile phones continue on trend to take over the market, STC is strongly positioned to remain in the top 20 mobile networks in the world while keeping its sights set on steadily moving up into the top 10. The index rates the intensity level of competition in the region's cellular markets by comparing the state of every market relative to the other markets. The index takes into account nine categories, with each category assigned with a weight based on its importance as an indicator of competitive behavior. The categories include the number of licensed and expected operators in 2011, the number of working operators, the market share of the largest operator, the number of pre-paid plans, the number of post-paid plans, the availability of smart phone plans, the availability of corporate offers, the availability of 3G services, and the availability of international long distance competition. The index added the availability of smart phones packages to the 2011 index, in line with the increased adoption of mobile broadband and smart phone usage in the MENA region, which contributes to overall market competitiveness. Lebanon was in the 19th place among 19 countries in the Arab world, unchanged from 2010 but down from 15th place in 2007 and 11th place in 2006 Lebanon received a score of 33.80 percent, way below the regional average of 58.14 percent, but up from 31.2 percent in 2010. The rankings of countries like Algeria, Bahrain, and Mauritania improved from 2010; those of Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged; while the rankings of Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen regressed year-on
