RIYADH (Reuters) -- Saudi Arabia, which plans to license a third telecom operator by the end of this year, offers considerable growth potential for third-generation mobile-phone use, experts say.

Walid Moneimne, senior vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa at handset manufacturer Nokia, said that in three years the number of 3G users had risen to 100 million worldwide, out of 2 billion mobile line subscribers.

"It's a key indicator that definitely it is happening. We're talking about phenomenal development ... and the Middle East and Africa are going to be the fastest in the world," he told a seminar in the kingdom.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, with its gadget-obsessed population and low Internet-penetration rate, offers particularly good opportunities for mobile phones with third-generation technology, experts told the seminar.

3G, the third generation of developments in wireless technology, and its high-speed upgrades offer Web access some 100 times faster than normal fixed lines and 350 times faster than GSM, the widely used digital mobile-phone system. 3G also allows television reception.

Saudi Arabia's biggest operator, the state-owned Saudi Telecom (STC), rolled out its 3G service last month, and three weeks later its competitor Mobily, which began operations in 2005, launched its own version.

The government will grant a third mobile-phone license by the end of the year.

Moneimne said the number of mobile-phone users in Saudi Arabia was set to rise to 22 million in 2009 from 10 million in 2002. The population, including over 6 million foreign residents, is currently around 24 million.

Saudi operators hope that interest in 3G could also benefit from the kingdom's low Internet penetration compared to other Gulf countries, Mobily's IT chief Ahmed Al-Oraini told the forum.

Ahmed Sindi of the government's Communications and Information Technology Commission said the number of Internet users is currently 3.2 million, or 14.5 percent.