The company ended September with 301,199 subscribers, a jump of 63 percent in just three months, according to Orascom Telecom. The Egyptian company owns a three-quarter stake in Koryolink.

Quarterly revenue of US$18.4 million was a record while profit was $7.5 million, before accounting for interest payments, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Orascom did not disclose whether Koryolink made a net profit or a loss for the period.

A lot of the growth came from outside the capital city of Pyongyang.

Koryolink expanded its network to cover a twelfth provincial city during the quarter and added tariffs aimed at lower-income users outside of the capital. As a result approximately half of all new subscribers during the quarter came from outside of Pyongyang.

The push to broaden its subscriber base had an effect on the average revenue gained from each subscriber during the period. It was US$15.20 during the quarter, down from $21.50 in the second quarter.