Kuwaiti mobile market will reach 192.7 percent increase by 2016, BMI said in its Kuwait Telecommunications Report Q1 2012. BMI noted that the Kuwaiti mobile market recorded net additions of about 327,000 subscribers during 9M11 compared to 306,000 during the same period in 2010. This suggests the market is capable of steady growth over the next five years despite a high penetration rate. There is no change to BMI's short-term mobile forecast this quarter. BMI maintained its growth expectations for the fixed-line and Internet sectors as there was no new data from the MoC at the time of writing. However, BMI cautioned that a combination of continued disconnection of fixed lines because of unpaid bills and increasing fixed-to-mobile substitution poses downside risks to its fixed-line forecast. For the Internet sector, BMI forecast mobile broadband access through 3G and now LTE networks to remain the major growth driver for broadband connections. The lingering dispute between the MoC and the country's leading ISPs regarding internet tariffs will also remain a major hindrance to growth in the fixed-line broadband sector. There were reports in 2011 that the government will aim to establish an independent telecoms regulator by 2012. While there is no official confirmation yet to suggest this, BMI maintained the view that the establishment of an independent regulator and the liberalization of the fixed-line market are two key factors that should help the fixed-line sector achieve its full growth potential. BMI revised its mobile ARPU forecasts to reflect competition dynamics in the mobile market. Based on market data published by Zain and Wataniya, BMI said there were net additions of 81,000 subscribers in Q311 or growth of 1.7 percent q-o-q to reach 4.777 million subscribers.
