Saudi Arabia’s smartphone users now consume 62% of their video intake on phones or tablets, a higher average than counterparts in the UAE, USA, UK and Germany, according to Ericsson.
Additionally, 43% of smartphone users in the 16–29 age group watch on-demand video weekly in Saudi Arabia. Mobile broadband usage behavior in Saudi Arabia is driven by high smartphone ownership, access to 4G networks and strong interest in new services, the Ericsson Consumerlab ‘Evolving Expectations’ study has found.
Of the 2000 smartphone users sampled in the kingdom, 66% said they use the Internet constantly throughout the day – which is on a par with western Internet use. Another 54% claim that the Internet is their main source of news and entertainment, surpassing both the UK and the USA.
“The fact is that consumers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are increasingly mobile, video driven, to the extent that their connectivity and mobility is surpassing many other countries, which is truly exciting,” said Ali Eid, head of Ericsson, Saudi Arabia.
“One of the key points highlighted by this report is that consumer expectations from mobile services are increasingly evolving over time. In order to meet the expectations, there is a challenge for operators to improve service quality with reliable and faster mobile broadband and better customer support.”
The report found that across locations, 66% of smartphone users feel Wi-Fi offers a desirable performance for watching videos, compared to 23% who feel the same about mobile networks.
In spite of having a high-quality video streaming experience, only 57% of consumers are satisfied with online video streaming, compared to the 88% who are satisfied with instant messaging and chat services.
Among the KSA’s smartphone users, there is a 10% growth in tablet ownership and a 17% growth in the usage of 4G connections in the last two years, Ericsson found.