Arab Advisors Group has released its latest telecom research series examining how telecom operators across four Arab regions (Gulf region, Levant region, Maghreb region, and Egypt & Sudan) are developing and positioning their mobile applications as part of broader digital platform strategies. The reports analyze operators’ in-house developed applications, assessing the number and types of apps offered, their accessibility across major platforms, and their functionalities including multi-service telecom capabilities, third-party integrations, embedded payments, and monetization. The analysis categorizes operator apps into standard apps, semi-super apps, and super apps, providing a clear view of how telcos’ digital platforms are evolving across the Arab markets. The reports also compare the availability of these applications across the App Store, Google Play, and AppGallery, while examining how they are rated by users on each platform.
A newly released research series by Arab Advisors Group examines how telecom operators across the GCC and Yemen, the Maghreb, the Levant, and Egypt & Sudan are developing and positioning their mobile applications as part of broader digital platform strategies. Telecom operators can use the research to benchmark their apps against regional peers, uncover opportunities to expand their service offerings, and strategically evolve existing applications into super apps. By integrating services, operators can broaden their value proposition as well as open new revenue streams, enhance customer engagement, and strengthen subscriber loyalty across their digital ecosystems.
For application providers, the series offers detailed guidance on forming effective partnerships with telecom operators, embedding services seamlessly into operator apps, and reaching vast subscriber bases efficiently. These insights can help reduce user acquisition costs, accelerate growth, and support the development of scalable super app platforms capable of delivering multiple services under a single interface. Content and media providers, including video, music, and digital services, can leverage the findings to maximize content distribution, increase user engagement, and tap into ready-made subscriber bases without the need for heavy marketing investments. Technology vendors, fintech companies, and application developers benefit by gaining actionable insights on aligning their solutions with operator strategies, in addition to leveraging the reach, billing infrastructure, and digital expertise of telecom partners. This alignment enables them to participate meaningfully in the digital transformation journeys of operators, while also creating new product and service opportunities. Consultancies and investors can apply the research findings to assess the growth potential of digital ecosystems, evaluate the effectiveness of monetization strategies, and identify emerging opportunities for new services, partnerships, and revenue models. Additionally, they can make informed decisions, optimize investment strategies, and support initiatives that drive sustainable growth across the telecom sector. Ultimately, this series delivers a 360-degree view of the telecom digital landscape, making it an indispensable resource for operators, developers, content providers, technology vendors, fintech companies, consultancies, and investors who want to navigate the complex ecosystem of mobile applications, super app strategies, and digital transformation across different Arab regions.
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As telecom operators pursue deeper engagement with subscribers through digital channels, telco-powered applications is central to service delivery, customer interaction, and digital monetization strategies. Yet the maturity and complexity of these apps varied widely across the region. In more digitally advanced markets like the GCC, telecom operators are increasingly integrating multiple telecom services (44%) and third-party digital offerings (39%) within a single app, signaling a shift towards broader digital ecosystem participation. GCC telco-powered apps further stood out with nearly 40% categorized as super apps, compared to ~20% of the apps developed by operators in each of the remaining Arab regions (the Levant, the Maghreb, and Egypt & Sudan).” said Hiba Rabadi, Managing Director of Arab Advisors Group. “Despite these variations, telco-powered apps unite in terms of monetization; almost all apps in MENA are free to access, with very limited monetization cases are spotted through in-app purchases (3 apps in each of the GCC, Maghreb, and Egypt & Sudan and only 2 apps in the Levant region), highlighting opportunities for growth and deeper digital ecosystem development. The research series delivers data-driven insights that enable telcos to benchmark their digital services, assess competitiveness, optimize app strategies, enhance subscriber engagement, and identify growth opportunities. The combination of accuracy, comparability, and actionable insight provided in this series continues to distinguish Arab Advisors Group.
These research reports provide a uniquely comparable view of telco-powered apps across the GCC, the Levant, the Maghreb, and Egypt & Sudan, delivering operator-, country-, sub-regional-, and regional-level insights through a structured and consistent analytical framework. Developed by Arab Advisors Group, the region’s market research leader for over 20 years, the studies combine deep sector expertise with a long-standing reputation for data accuracy, methodological rigor, and research reliability, making the series a trusted reference for decision-makers across the digital ecosystem. With transparent methodology, multi-level coverage, and consistently validated datasets built on more than two decades of telecom research experience, these reports stand out as a reliable and actionable intelligence resource for organizations seeking structured, comparable, and strategy-ready insights into telco app evolution across the Arab region.
What distinguishes this research series is its breadth and analytical depth: the reports offer comprehensive benchmarking across app portfolios, multi-service and third-party integrations, embedded payments, monetization strategies, and app store performance indicators, all within ready-to-use reports that eliminate the need for lengthy custom studies. Importantly, the analysis goes beyond conventional feature comparisons by incorporating a customer-experience journey perspective: assessing app findability, clarity of positioning, usability, integration logic, and overall service accessibility. This approach enables telecom operators, fintech companies, and digital service providers to benchmark performance, as well as identify practical opportunities for improving engagement, strengthening digital ecosystems, and refining monetization strategies with confidence.
Our reports: “Super Apps in the GCC Region and Yemen: Telecom-Driven Innovation and Transformation”, “Super Apps in the Levant Region: Telecom-Driven Innovation and Transformation”, “Super Apps in the Maghreb Region: Telecom-Driven Innovation and Transformation”, “Super Apps in Egypt and Sudan: Telecom-Driven Innovation and Transformation” which were released in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 to Arab Advisors Group’s communication research subscribers, answer the below questions:
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- How many in-house developed applications do telecom operators in each region offer? and what types of applications dominate the market?
- To what extent are these applications accessible across major platforms? and how easily can subscribers discover them?
- How do telco applications differ in functionality, particularly multiple telecom services, embedded payment features, and third-party integrations?
- Which operators offered applications that qualify as super or semi-super apps? and what factors distinguish them from standard apps?
- How do app monetization approaches vary across operators?
- How do ratings for telecom applications differ across multiple stores?
- Overall, how do these findings help operators evaluate their digital strategies’ alignment with subscriber-facing accessibility and regional market trends?
To access the full insights and detailed benchmarks, contact Arab Advisors Group today or request the full Table of Contents
The reports were released to Arab Advisors Group’s subscribers and can be purchased individually for US$ 4,500 for each report.
Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region produced over 6,100 reports on the Arab World’s communications, media, and financial markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom).
To date, Arab Advisors Group serves over 1,000 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients. Some of our clients can be viewed on https://arabadvisors.com/client-list