CAIRO - Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil is considering compensation for its users after a three-hour network failure on Wednesday, the company's Chief Executive Officer Hassan Kabbani was quoted by local media as saying on Thursday. "During routine checks and maintenance operations, the glitch happened. We are sorry for this mishap, and evaluating damage caused and how to make it up for our customers," Kabbani added. The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Egypt grew 29 per cent from a year earlier to 72.94 million as of February, according to Reuters. Mobile subscribers numbered 71.50 million in January. In February 2010, Egypt's three mobile operators - Etisalat Egypt, Mobinil and Vodafone Egypt - had 56.49 million subscriptions. With a total population of about 80 million, the market is nearing 100 per cent penetration. In April, Mobinil said its first-quarter net income tumbled 94 per cent to LE22.7 million ($3.81 million) against a backdrop of political turmoil that unseated Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak.