Egypt to bring Internet services to rural areas

Work is under way at the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to bring satellite Internet services to all parts of Egypt, particularly rural areas.
Many areas in Egypt lack Internet services due to weak infrastructure and the country's geographic spread.
In June 2013, the ministry approved a plan to let companies obtain operating licenses to provide satellite Internet services in the country.
The ministry is now finalising technical procedures before launching the service in the coming months, said Helwan University engineering professor Mahmoud Shahin, technical advisor to an Egyptian telecommunications company.
"In spite of the large number of Internet users in Egypt, many areas remain completely outside the coverage area because of the country's vast geographic spread," he said.
In particular, areas that lack this service include the desert border areas to the west and east, which lack the necessary telecommunications infrastructure, he said.
To overcome this problem, Internet services will be provided via satellite, Shahin told Al-Shorfa.
Work also will include improving the services provided by telecommunications companies in various areas, particularly replacing traditional copper cables with fibre-optic cables, he added.
"Through the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Communications has begun monitoring the quality of the services provided to customers, using advanced, newly-imported equipment, in addition to using the bitstream service which offers high quality and high speed Internet for all users," he said.
According to ministry statistics issued in June, there are now around 44 million Internet users in Egypt, in comparison with 18.6 million users in 2010, telecommunications engineer Amer al-Minshawi told Al-Shorfa.
"Egypt is striving, in the coming period, to become an integrated hub for Internet services at the regional level by encouraging technology companies to export to African countries," al-Minshawi said.
"The Ministry of Communications will roll out [opportunities] for foreign investment in Egypt, with projects distributed across seven technology villages throughout Egypt, particularly in rural areas, to create job opportunities and benefit all citizens," he said.
"The Upper Egypt region will have three technology villages," he added.
The technology sector in Egypt contributes to about 3% of GDP, which is low compared with other countries around the world where this percentage can reach as much as 20%, said Ain Shams University economics professor Fakhreddine Awadallah.
"However, the overall upgrades the Ministry of Communications is implementing by covering all areas, introducing Internet via satellite and completely restructuring the telecommunications infrastructure in all governorates, should help significantly raise this percentage to 10% over the next three years," he said.
Several vital economic sectors will be linked to the telecommunications and Internet sector, such as the new Suez Canal project, Awadallah said.
The telecom sector will provide the infrastructure for this project as well as secure modern technology projects as auxiliary projects for the canal, he said.