CAIRO: The number of mobile phone subscribers rose by 1.2 million in March, bringing the total to 57.7 million out of a population of nearly 80 million, according to Egypt's Information Portal. Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said that the number of mobile phone licenses could increase to four, which means Telecom Egypt could enter into the fold, but this is strictly dependent on available spectrum as well as subscriber growth to name a few, Reuters reported. Asked about the possibility of state-owned Telecom Egypt to enter into the mobile phone market, Marise Ananian, vice-president telecommunications analyst at EFG-Hermes, said, “Telecom Egypt covets more exposure, but we believe the mobile market is very close to saturation and it would be difficult for Telecom Egypt to enter into the mobile phone market place through a new entity now. “As it stands presently, Etisalat Misr, the third mobile phone provider, is initiating moves of slashing prices,” she said, making it hard for another competitor to offer more compelling rates to consumers. Although the Egyptian government is considering letting a fourth operator enter the market, which is currently dominated by the main three — Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr — Ananian said, “The market is actually seeing an overall slowdown in terms of growth, because it is nearing maturity, with a penetration rate of about 70 percent. “Therefore, it is normal that new subscriptions would be leveling off.” In contrast to March's strong figures, Ananian point out that during the first quarter of 2010, Mobinil saw the number of new subscriptions at around 700,000, highlighting that new subscriptions are slowing down. She further explained that in comparison to other Gulf Council Countries (GCC), which largely have penetration rates above 100 percent, Egypt can expect to reach 90 percent at most, and will likely be attained by 2015. Ananian also explained that the slow down in new subscriptions can also be imputed to the government not providing a sufficient number of new telephone numbers for mobile phones. She added that 2009 was a highly competitive year during which the sector witnessed veritable “price wars,” accompanied by increased quality of service, which is better than in the rest of Africa.
