March 2006
Telephone subscriptions have more than doubled in Algeria over a one-year period. The number of fixed and mobile lines stood at 16.2 million in 2005, corresponding to a massive growth of 122% from 2004. But the winner in that market remains mobile telephone, since while the number of fixed line stagnated to 2.5 million; the number of mobile units reached 13.6 million. Combined, these two sources of telephony lead to a 49.34% teledensity in Algeria in 2005, versus 22.89% in the previous year.
Telephone subscriptions have more than doubled in Algeria over a one-year period. The number of fixed and mobile lines stood at 16.2 million in 2005, corresponding to a massive growth of 122% from 2004. But the winner in that market remains mobile telephone, since while the number of fixed line stagnated to 2.5 million; the number of mobile units reached 13.6 million. Combined, these two sources of telephony lead to a 49.34% teledensity in Algeria in 2005, versus 22.89% in the previous year.
The liberalization of the mobile telephony market has been the driving factor for this growth. The recent entry of the Consortium Algerien de Telecommunication (CAT), a joint venture of Egypt's Orascom Telecom and Telecom Egypt to start operating the country's second fixed-line telephone network bodes well for the very important development of the fixed telephony market.
In the mobile telephony space, three operators have been competing for market share. They are Orascom, Algerie Telecom and the license owned by Kuwait's Wataniya.
© The North Africa Journal 2006
