Saudi Arabia’s mobile services market revenue is projected to rise from $13.9 billion in 2025 to $17.4 billion by 2030, reflecting a CAGR of 4.5 percent, according to GlobalData. The surge in mobile services market in Saudi Arabia is primarily fuelled by accelerated adoption of mobile data services, particularly 5G, as operators shift toward data-centric experiences, higher ARPU, and innovation-led offerings.
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Mobile voice services revenue in Saudi Arabia are expected to witness a decline, shrinking at a CAGR of 3.4 percent due to falling voice ARPU and the rising preference for OTT communication platforms. In contrast, mobile data services revenue in Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow at a strong CAGR of 6.6 percent, supported by higher ARPU from premium 5G plans. Average monthly data consumption in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase from 56.2 GB in 2025 to around 129.9 GB in 2030, driven by data-focused plans and rising usage of high-bandwidth content, GlobalData report said.
The transition to premium 5G subscriptions is directly boosting ARPU as users in Saudi Arabia opt for higher-tier plans for streaming, gaming, social media, and enterprise applications. Operators are aligning their offerings with evolving digital behaviour, strengthening customer engagement and revenue growth.
5G will emerge as the dominant technology across the kingdom. While 4G will remain the leading technology by subscription share until 2026, 5G subscriptions in Saudi Arabia are expected to rise sharply and account for 93 percent of total mobile subscriptions by 2030. This shift is supported by heavy capex investments in 5G infrastructure to deliver faster speeds, broader coverage, and improved reliability. In October 2025, STC announced a national initiative under Vision 2030 to expand 5G coverage to more than 2,000 sites, with a focus on underserved regions.
These investments are enabling operators to offer new high-ARPU services such as cloud gaming, premium streaming, and enterprise IoT solutions. The strong link between subscription growth and digital services revenue underscores the strategic role of 5G in Saudi Arabia’s transformation.
STC continues to lead the Saudi mobile market by subscription share, followed by Mobily and Zain KSA. GlobalData expects STC to retain its leadership through 2030, supported by ongoing investment in 5G, M2M, and IoT services. Subscription growth remains a critical revenue driver, with operators focusing on data-centric plans and premium packages that raise ARPU. The rise of 5G is reshaping opportunities across smart cities, connected vehicles, and industrial IoT.
Saudi telecom operators are increasingly adopting customer-centric strategies, offering flexible data plans, targeted packages, and digital services tailored for both consumers and enterprises. With new offerings such as AR and VR experiences, cloud gaming, and advanced IoT solutions, operators are enhancing customer loyalty while unlocking new revenue streams. The focus on ARPU-driven offerings is helping offset the decline in traditional voice services.
Saudi Arabia’s telecom market continues to expand as STC, Mobily and Zain KSA intensify investments in 5G, digital services and infrastructure to support rising data demand and Vision 2030 priorities. STC remains the market leader by subscription share, followed by Mobily and Zain KSA, each pursuing distinct strategies to boost network quality, diversify services and grow subscribers.
STC maintains its leadership through the DARE strategy, which focuses on strengthening core telecom services while accelerating digital diversification. The company continues to scale its fintech portfolio, led by stc Bank, which now has 3 million customers, Ken Research report said. STC has expanded 5G to cover 54.7 percent of the population while enhancing its infrastructure footprint through 25 data centers and 16 subsea cables. Investment priorities include fiber connectivity for over 3.6 million households, international fiber corridors and strategic asset monetization, such as the sale of a 51 percent stake in its Tawal tower business. STC’s subscriber base reached 29 million mobile users in Q1 2025, marking a 7.6 percent year over year increase, alongside 5.89 million fixed lines.
Mobily continues to invest aggressively to support its Vision 2030 aligned growth plan. The company recorded SAR 2.13 billion in capital expenditure during Q1 2025, an increase of 850 percent year over year. Spending focused on expanding 5G networks, enhancing spectrum capacity, building new data centers valued at more than 906 million dollars and strengthening subsea connectivity through projects like Africa 1 and the Saudi Egypt cable system. Mobily reported a 20.2 percent rise in Q2 2025 profit to SAR 767 million, supported by stronger consumer loyalty programs, expanding enterprise solutions and growth in wholesale digital services. Mobile subscribers reached 12.8 million by Q2 2025, up 5 percent year over year, while fiber to the home customers stood at nearly 290,000.
Zain KSA continues to enhance network performance, extending 5G services to 94 cities and delivering the fastest download speeds in the country, with a 14 percent year over year improvement in throughput. The operator is expanding digital services through fintech arm Tamam, which generated SAR 327.6 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2025, up 23 percent. New growth areas include an Insurtech brokerage venture.
Zain KSA reported SAR 668 million in capital expenditure for the first nine months of 2025 and secured SAR 5.5 billion in refinancing at improved terms to support future investments. Customers of Zain rose to 8.6 million by Q3 2025, while the 5G subscriber base surged 49 percent and data attachment rose 12 percent.
With mobile data consumption expected to more than double by 2030, Saudi Arabia’s mobile services market is positioned for sustained growth. Operators that continue to invest in 5G, premium subscriptions, and digital innovation will be best placed to capture high-value segments and support the kingdom’s digital transformation objectives under Vision 2030.
Fasna Shabeer
