Egypt's public payphone market continues to grow at a very slow pace

Three companies operate in the public payphone market in Egypt. Menatel, Nile Telecom and Telecom Egypt operated a total of 57,783 public payphones by end of September 2008. Menatel operates 56.9% of total payphones followed by Nile Telecom (33.1%) and Telecom Egypt (10.0%). The use of payphones in Egypt is helped by the relatively low penetration of cellular lines and fixed lines as well as the cost advantages that payphones present.

Mena Telecom is the payphone operator that registered the highest growth. In the first nine months of 2008, the operator deployed 331 new payphones, to reach a base of 32,884 payphones, constituting the majority of 56.9% of payphones in Egypt. In 2007 and the first nine months of 2008, Mena Telecom has been gaining market share.

Mena Telecom added 1,583 payphones in 2007, and 331 in the fist nine months of 2008, while Nile telecom added a minimal 59 payphones in 2007, and 5 in the first nine months of 2008. Telecom Egypt's payphone base is dropping as the operator decommissioned 333 payphones in 2007 and 311 payphones in the first nine months of 2008.

The public payphone market in Egypt is sustained due to its competitive rates as well as its being the only choice for many low income users.

Payphones represent a cheap way of completing a call seeing that it excludes any initial or installation costs or monthly fees.