Algeria’s Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications (ARPT) said on Sunday that the number of mobile subscribers in Algeria rose to around 33 million compared to only three million fixed telephone users.
The APS quoted communications manager of the ARPT Medjahed Faisal as saying that broadband Internet in the country, through a number of ADSL carriers, rose to approximately 830,000 through February, which gives the country a penetration rate of around 10 percent.
Egypt’s OTA (Orascom Telecom Algeria, also known as Djezzy) has maintained its position as the leader in the market, with a 46 percent stake through 2010. The number of subscribers for Djezzy rose by nearly half a million in the past year, Faisal added.
The report said that public operator, Mobilis Telecom Algeria, has seen a decline in light of Djezzy’s success. At 28.8 percent of the market, the state-owned company reported a loss of half a million subscribers in 2010.
The country’s third operator, Qatari group QTEL Watania Telecom Algeria, saw a 25 percent increase in subscribers in the past year.
Fixed lines continue to remain stagnant, with only three million subscribers in the country (8,3 percent of the market).
By Jonathan Terry
