Mobile operators raised SIM card prices on Friday after imposing EGP 50, as a development fee on lines.

The prices of SIM cards after the increase came at EGP 75 for a Telecom Egypt (TE) line, which is the cheapest among the four mobile operators.

The price of a TE line is for EGP 15, in addition to the EGP 50 development fee and EGP 10 for value-added tax (VAT).

The price of the post-paid line for TE will remain unchanged at EGP 30, plus the development fee of EGP 50, in addition to EGP 10 of value-added tax on the first bill and EGP 10 on monthly bills.

The Orange SIM cards will be priced at EGP 7, plus the EGP 50 development fee, EGP 11.5 of value-added tax, and EGP 15.5 for the line itself. Post-paid cards will see an increase of EGP 10 and EGP 12.3 as VAT.

Etisalat’s SIM cards are priced at EGP 77 and Vodafone’s at EGP 81, which is the most expensive line among the four mobile operators.

On Thursday, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ratified Law 153 of 2018, amending certain provisions of Law 147 of 1984, on the imposition of a fee for the development of the state’s financial resources.

The State Gazette published the text of the law, which went into effect on Friday.

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) excluded the network of distributors from the sale of lines and limited it to the branches of companies.

A senior official from the NTRA said in previous statements that the new fees imposed would not be an obstacle to growth of mobile customers.

“The number of mobile lines is actually declining to reduce the random sale of lines,” he said.

Mobile phone sales are expected to fall sharply following the implementation of the decision to raise the price of mobile lines.

The decision will also affect customer consumption rates, especially for a wide range of post-paid users.

A large number of post-paid customers are expected to migrate to the card system, especially limited-billing customers.