Political uncertainty stalled Egypt`s telecoms industry in the first half of 2011, but this did not stop the sector from generating $5.7 billion in revenue last year.

This is according to a study conducted by Pyramid Research, which says that, despite some stagnation in 2011, Egypt`s telecoms industry is predicted to expand at 5.1% annually, between 2011 and 2016.

The researchers expect the bulk of this growth to come from both fixed and mobile data services, as a result of the Egyptian government`s national broadband plan that seeks to extend network coverage.

“We expect the revenue growth from mobile voice services to almost come to a halt between 2011 and 2016, while mobile data will accumulate to generate a total of $11.1 billion between 2011 and 2016,” the report said.

“On the fixed side, the decline of circuit-switched voice will continue steadily to fall, generating a revenue of just over half a billion dollars in 2016,” the report added.

Pyramid Research also said the North African country`s mobile penetration rate reached 97% of the country`s estimated 81 million people in 2011. The company says most of Egypt`s new subscriptions will be second or third SIM cards in years to come.

Furthermore, the fixed-line segment of Egypt`s telecoms sector continues to be dominated by Telecom Egypt, as the operator accounts for 83% of all circuit-switched access lines in that country. Pay-TV subscriptions in Egypt also reached 969 000 at the end of 2011, according to Pyramid.