CAIRO: Telecom Egypt (TE) has announced its plans to expand broadband and mobile-phone services after third-quarter profit dropped due to a decrease in subscribers. TE runs the nation's fixed-line telephone monopoly. The company plans to begin operating a new undersea cable by the end of the year to increase capacity for data services, and is also in the process of negotiating a virtual mobile network operator license which they hope to acquire during the first quarter of 2012. TE is also currently negotiating with Egypt's telecommunications regulator to acquire a license that would allow it to use the networks of other mobile-phone companies to provide services, according to TE's Chief Financial Officer Hassan Helmy. The company also owns almost half of Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications Co., which is the biggest mobile-network operator in terms of users in Egypt. “In the medium and long-term, the dynamics of the local market are very attractive,” Helmy said. “We're counting on the young population of this country.” The company reported a 21 percent drop in net income from last year, read a statement on TE's website. Fixed line subscription also dropped to 8.6 million users, from 9.4 million last year. “The wider economic malaise is placing pressure on household incomes in Egypt,” Chairman Akil Beshir said in the statement on Tuesday. “As predicated last quarter, there has been an impact on Telecom Egypt's overall total number of active subscribers.” BM
