The number of mobile phone subscriptions in Egypt rose by 970,000 to 58.7 million in April, according to data released on Egypt's Information Portal on Wednesday. A year ago the three mobile operators - Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt - had 43.5 million subscribers in Egypt, whose population is 78 million. The communications minister said in January that a fourth mobile licence could be offered depending on factors such as available spectrum and revenue as well as subscriber growth. The state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt has expressed an interest in any new licence, holding off on a dividend payment in March ahead of a possible bid. Growth in subscriptions has slowed in recent months after jumping 1.7 million in December. More than a million accounts had been created every month since late in 2008 as the three operators offered heavily discounted on-network plans to garner customers. In October subscriptions fell.