The number of mobile subscribers slightly increased in November 2016 from October.
According to a report issued by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the number of subscribers to mobile services increased from 97.23m in October to 97.4 million in November, marking a growth of 0.17%.
The three mobile phone operators, Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat, attracted about 170,000 new subscribers to their services.
The report further stated that the number of subscribers to land-line services rose from 6.1m subscribers in October to 6.45m in November, an increase of 4.4%.
Telecom Egypt (TE) attracted about 270,000 new customers during November. It is noteworthy that TE is currently the only land-line provider in Egypt.
The mobile market is expected to witness a struggle in the coming period, as TE is poised to launch mobile services as a fourth mobile operator company and will provide fourth-generation services (4G) that are more than 10 times faster than the current 3G services.
In August, TE received licenses worth EGP 7.08bn, allowing it to provide 4G services and other frequencies.
The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) recently signed the 4G licenses with Vodafone Egypt for $335m, with Etisalat Egypt for $535.5m, and with Orange Egypt for $484m.
The mobile sector gained nearly 970,100 new subscribers in October, as the number of subscribers increased from 96.2m subscribers in September to reach around 97.2m subscribers in October.
Etisalat Egypt was able to attract the largest number of new subscribers, recording an increase from 23m subscribers in September to 23.69m in October, an increase of 671,400 subscribers in only one month.
