Egypt mobile subscriptions rise in June

CAIRO, EGYPT: The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Egypt rose in June after falling in May because of delays to a new numbering plan.

Subscriptions grew by 581,000 to 58.834 million in June, a state website said on Thursday. A year ago, Egypt's three mobile operators had 43.5 million subscribers.

Growth in subscriptions has slowed after they jumped by 1.7 million in December and analysts have partly blamed delays in a plan to add an extra digit to mobile numbers in Egypt, which meant operators struggled to assign numbers to new customers.

The head of the telecoms regulator told Reuters last month that Egypt was looking into options for a fourth mobile licence, including a virtual network.

State-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt has expressed interest in a new licence.