The number of mobile service subscriptions increased by 4.5%, from 94.6 million in February 2016 to 98.8 million in February 2017, according to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The ministry said in a statement that the number of mobile service subscriptions increased by 0.65%, from 98.2 million in January 2017 to 98.8 million in February. On the other hand, the number of internet subscribers fell from 33.8 million in February 2016 to 32.9 million in February 2017, according to the statement. The number of mobile internet users in February 2017 reached 25.3 million subscribers, down from 25.7 million in February, a decline of 1.5%. The statement also pointed out that the number of internet users via USB modem declined from 3.6 million subscribers in February 2016 to 3.3 million subscribers in February 2017, a decline of 8.4%. The number of users of fixed internet ADSL services increased by 11.36%, from 3.9 million in February 2016 to 4.3 million in February 2017. Vodafone accounted for the largest share of new customers in January, adding more than 356,800 clients that month, boosting its client base from 40.2 million in December 2016 to 40.6 million in January, according to data from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. On the other hand, the number of subscribers of Orange dropped from 33.8 million in December to 33.7 million in January, losing some 89,400 clients in one month. Etisalat obtained more clients, rising from 23.6 million clients in December to 23.8 million by the end of January 2017, with 175,000 new subscribers. According to the indicators, the sheer number of mobile service subscribers increased by 442,500 clients in January. The total number of mobile services reached 98.2 million in January, up from 97.7 million in December 2016.
