year.

Egypt’s only fixed-line operator told the market this will happen after it has received its mobile operating licence from the country’s regulator.

The company is seeking to commence mobile phone services to help supplement revenues that are under pressure from falling fixed-line payments.

Egypt’s total communications solutions provider said technical checks will kick-start this week.

“[The CEO] said that the company has plans to start work in July and he has stated before that Telecom Egypt is ready to launch the service once it gets the licence,” Ahram Online quoted Telecom Egypt as saying.

It is understood Egyptian government is scheduled to permit Telecom Egypt to offer mobile phone services.

Telecom Egypt, with 150 years of operation, is at the heart of the Egyptian telecommunications industry.

As at the end of December last year, it is the largest supplier of fixed line services in the Middle East and Africa with 7.3 million subscribers.

Telecom Egypt currently operates Egypt’s only fixed line network. It services retail voice and wholesale demand for consistent telecommunications networks.

As at 31 December, 2012, the company posted a Net Profit after Tax of EGP 2.611 billion ($374 million). This was a 12.8 percent drop compared to the same period in the previous year.

With the arrival of market liberalization, Telecom Egypt has paid attention to constructing a powerful stage for wholesale services to other telecommunications operators choosing to use its extensive network.