Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia have evolved early in the Kingdom since the establishment the Directorate of Post, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) in 1926.
Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE. And while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006, this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet service provider (ISP), du, was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. However, due to geographical distribution of service areas, the companies do not compete for customers and thus effectively operate as monopolies. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name.
Deutsche Telekom AG is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 1995 when Deutsche Bundespost, a state monopoly at the time, was privatized. Since then, Deutsche Telekom has consistently featured among FortuneMagazine's top Global 500 companies by revenue, with its ranking as of 2023 at number 79. In 2023, the company was ranked 41st in the Forbes Global 2000. The company operates several subsidiaries worldwide, including the mobile communications brand T-Mobile. It is the world's fifth-largest telecommunications company and biggest in Europe by revenue.
e&, formerly branded as Etisalat, is a UAE state-owned telecommunications company. It is the 16th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers.
Ahmad Abdullah Juma Bin Byat is an Emirati firmly established in the UAE’s business environment, holding directorial positions in several prominent Dubai organisations.
The Saudi Telecom Company, trading as STC Group provides ICT services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East and Europe. The group offers landline and fixed infrastructure, mobile and data services, and broadband & cloud computing services. It also offers online payments, telecommunications, IOT, 5G, e-gaming, cybersecurity, digital entertainment, and fintech.
Etihad Etisalat Company is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company that offers fixed line, mobile telephony, and Internet services, under the brand name Mobily.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company P.J.S.C., commercially rebranded as du (دو) in February 2007, is one of the two main telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates. du offers fixed line, mobile telephony, internet and digital television services across the UAE. It also provides carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities and satellite service for broadcasters. It expanded its services in support of economic and social transformation of UAE and operates subsidiaries such as EITC Investment Holdings Limited, Edara, Smart Dubai Platform Project Company LLC and EITC Singapore PTE. LTD.
Bharti Enterprises is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Delhi, India. It was founded in 1976 by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Enterprises owns businesses spanning across telecommunications, manufacturing, insurance, real estate, hospitality, and food. The group's flagship company, Bharti Airtel, is a telecom service provider with operations in more than 18 countries across Asia, Africa and Europe. The company ranks amongst the top two mobile network operators globally by number of subscribers.
Network equipment providers (NEPs) – sometimes called telecommunications equipment manufacturers (TEMs) – sell products and services to communication service providers such as fixed or mobile operators as well as to enterprise customers. NEP technology allows for calls on mobile phones, Internet surfing, joining a conference calls, or watching video on demand through IPTV (internet protocol TV). The history of the NEPs goes back to the mid-19th century when the first telegraph networks were set up. Some of these players still exist today.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding is an Emirati holding company based in Dubai. The family-owned conglomerate owns and operates shopping malls, retail, and hotel establishments in the Middle East and North Africa.
LuLu Group International is a multinational conglomerate company that operates a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 2000 by M. A. Yusuff Ali from Nattika in Kerala, India. The Group mainly operates "Lulu Hypermarket", a chain of hypermarkets that ranks among the top grocers in many of the markets it operates in. LuLu has over 65,000 employees of various nationalities.
The Al-Futtaim Group is a large conglomerate based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Al Tayer Group is a privately held holding company established in 1979. Currently, the group operates in 6 countries in the Middle East, including nearly 200 stores and 23 showrooms in multiple markets in the Middle East.
Alshaya Group is a multinational retail franchise operator headquartered in Kuwait. It operates nearly 70 consumer retail brands across the Middle East and North Africa, Türkiye, and Europe. In addition to its retail operations, the Alshaya Group has holdings in real estate, construction, hotels, automotive and general trading, largely centered in the Middle East.
Monaco Telecom is the primary telecommunications provider in the Principality of Monaco. Established in 1997, the company was formed following the government of Monaco's decision to privatize the previously state-owned Office Monégasque des Téléphones. Monaco Telecom provides various services including internet access and mobile phone services. It is a key entity in facilitating communication within Monaco and connecting the principality to global telecommunications networks. Additionally, the company operates a retail store which functions as a point of service and customer interaction.
Airtel India is the second largest provider of mobile telephony and third largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. The brand is operated by several subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel, with Bharti Hexacom and Bharti Telemedia providing broadband fixed line services and Bharti Infratel providing telecom passive infrastructure service such as telecom equipment and telecom towers. Currently, Airtel provides 5G, 4G and 4G+ services all over India. Currently offered services include fixed-line broadband, and voice services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel had also rolled out its VoLTE technology across all Indian telecom circles.
AW Rostamani Group, also known as “AWR”, is a privately held company established in 1954 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by Al Rostamani brothers, Abdullah and Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani. The company is headquartered in Dubai and employs over 3,800 workers. The Group operates 12 companies in seven diverse sectors: automotive, real estate, retail, lighting, travel and logistics.
Seamless Distribution Systems (SDS), a Swedish software company listed on Nasdaq First North Premier, currently operates in over 50 markets in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America.
My Country Mobile General Trading is a private Dubai based telecommunications service provider, that offers VoIP-based telecommunication products and services. It has additional offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and United Kingdom.
