Saudi's Mobily first Gulf telco to launch LTE network

Saudi Arabia telecoms operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has launched next generation Long-term Evolution (LTE) network services, the first Middle East carrier to do so, it said on Tuesday. Mobily's LTE roll-out comes as mobile carriers worldwide struggle to keep up with spiraling demand for data, which consumes much more bandwidth than voice. LTE is the telecoms industry's answer, offering download speeds of up to 150 megabits per speed (mbps). This compares to 3G's 42 mbps. Mobily has launched LTE, also known as 4G, through its subsidiary Bayanat al-Oula in several provincial cities in the kingdom, including Najran and Jazan in the south and Al Gurayat near the Jordan border.A second phase will be launched in two weeks, Mobily said in a statement, followed by the major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Damamm in mid-October. By then, Mobily - an affiliate of the UAE's Etisalat - will offer LTE in more than 30 cities, covering 85 percent of Saudi Arabia's populated areas.Mobily, which ended Saudi Telecom's domestic monopoly in 2005, claims a 75 percent share of Saudi Arabia's mobile broadband subscribers.The kingdom's mobile penetration rate is 188 percent, according to the International Telecommunications Union. This is the third highest in the world, with Saudi's conservative rules driving demand for telecoms services as people increasingly use mobile and internet services for entertainment and to communicate more easily.