Figures released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) show that the cost of the mobile-cellular basket in 20 Arab economies averaged about 4% of GNI per capita in 2017, the second costliest in the world behind Africa (15% of GNI per capita). The mobile-cellular basket covers the cost of a standard 30 outgoing calls per month at pre-determined rates, plus 100 SMS messages. The UAE has the cheapest mobile-cellular service among Arab countries at 0.19% of GNI per capita, followed by Qatar (0.36% of GNI), Kuwait (0.54% of GNI) and Bahrain (0.59% of GNI), while Djibouti (11.32% of GNI), the Comoros (16.46% of GNI) and Mauritania (19.11% of GNI) have the most expensive service in the region. In parallel, Qatar has the least expensive prepaid handset-based mobile broadband service among Arab countries at 0.32% of GNI per capita, while Mauritania has the most expensive service at 33.2% of GNI per capita. The cost covers an entry-level mobile-broadband subscription with a validity of 30 days and a minimum of 500 Megabytes of data volume allowance that is used through handheld devices such as a mobile phones or tablets. Further, Qatar has the cheapest postpaid computer-based mobile-broadband service among Arab countries at 0.49% of GNI per capita per month, while Mauritania has the most expensive service at 33.2% GNI per capita. The cost covers an entry-level computer-based mobile-broadband subscription with a validity of 30 days and a minimum of one Gigabyte of data volume allowance. 
Source: International Telecommunication Union