Telecommunication
Infrastructure | Informatics |
ICT Training and Development
| Broadcasting/Media
Telecommunication Infrastructure
Responsible
ministries: Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications
Telecommunication
operator:
- Telecom Egypt (also known as
ARENTO) is the sole operator of basic telecommunication services and terrestrial
communication infrastructure.
- MobiNil
, a consortium of
Motorola, France Telecom and Orascom, provides GSM-based (Global System for Mobile
Telephony) wireless services, currently to approximately 180,000 subscribers.
- Misrfone
received the second
cellular license and is also offering GSM-based mobile wireless service in Egypt. Misrfone
is a consortium of Vodafone, Airtouch, Alkan, and EFG-Hermes.
Telecommunication
regulator: The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority is responsible
for licensing of telecom operators and implementing government telecommunication policies.
Telecom
Egypt is the sole provider of basic telecommunications services and
infrastructure. Although the telecommunications sector in Egypt is governed by the
Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, regulatory autonomy is still controlled, to a
certain extent, by the Government Ministry. Furthermore, Telecom Egypt is still subject to
the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications for all major decisions concerning
finances, tariffs and employment.
Teledensity:
- Total: 7.51 (1999)
- Largest cities: 17.27 (1999)
- Rest of the country: 5.50 (1999)
Digital main
lines: 86.0% (1999)
Waiting list for
a telephone line:
- Average waiting time: 2.3 years
(1999)
- Total demand: 5,979.9 thousand
(1999)
- Satisfied demand: 78.4% (1999)
Telephone
tariffs (1999):
- Connection charge: residential
– US$147, business – US$294
- Monthly subscription: residential
– US$1.10, business – US$1.80
- Cost of a local telephone call: US$
0.01/minute.
Public
telephones: 10,320 (1999)
Public telephone
per 1000 inhabitants: 0.17 (1999)
Mobile cellular
subscribers: 481,000 (1999)
Cellular
subscribers as a % of total telephone subscribers: 9.3 (1999)
Mobile cellular
tariffs (1999):
- Connection charge: US$ 147
- Monthly subscription: US$ 30.9
- Local call per minute: US$ 0.44
(peak) and US$ 0.35 (off-peak)
Telecommunications
revenue (M US$): 1,849.7 (1999)
Telecommunications
investment (M US$): 712.9 (1999)
Telecommunications
investment as a % of revenue: 38.5
Telecom equipment
exports (M US$): na
Telecom equipment
imports (M US$): 335.8 (1999)
Community Access
Centres:
Facsimiles:
31,400 (1998)
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Informatics
Lead
organizations: Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC), Regional Information
Technology and Software Engineering Centre (RITSEC), the Internet Society of Egypt (ISE)
and the Egyptian Universities Network (EUN)
Computers per
100 inhabitants: 1.20 (1999)
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ICT
Training and Development
RITSEC is
instrumental in the creation of the Regional Arab Information Technology Network
(RAITNET), a non-governmental regional network of institutions to facilitate
coordination and training among those active in building ICT infrastructure in the Arab
region. There are about 50 member organizations of RAITNET offering ICT training around
the country.
The Information
Technology Institute (ITI) was established by IDSC in 1993. It is currently the
leading Egyptian institute that provides constant supply of information technology (IT)
professional, by training university graduates on IT related skills. ITI has trained more
than 1,000 of its new university graduates on different programming platforms. Many ITI
graduates are working in various projects of IDSC/RITSEC as well as networks established
by the private and governmental sectors.
The Ministry
of Education has developed an extensive program involving ICTs in education. It
has recently launched the Mubarak National Project which includes a number of activities
using ICTs at the secondary schools level. The project is piloted in 150 secondary schools
which has been selected to cover all governates in Egypt. Three agencies within the
Ministry of Education is supporting ICT aspects of the program.
The Egyptian National Scientific and
Technical Information Network (ESTINET) operates several networks in Cairo,
catering to the needs of various sectors in the Egyptian society (agriculture, energy,
industry, medicine, etc.). ESTINET is offering training in PC-related courses and
Information-related courses. The PC-related courses covers the major commercial PC
applications (Word, Windows, Visual Basic, etc.), whereas Information-related courses
include training in database searching and development, information marketing, networking,
and information management.
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Broadcasting/Media
Responsible for
regulating media broadcast: Ministry
of Information and Mass Media
Television
operators:
- Public Television: The Egyptian
Radio and Television Union (ERTU) has launched Nilesat, the first
satellite for broadcasting services. This satellite service enables Egyptian television
programs to be broadcast not only in Egypt but also in other North Africa countries, the
Gulf States, and Southern Europe.
- Private Television: With the
launch of Nilesat, there are now thirteen Egyptian television channels available
through the satellite service. The private channel, Nile TV, comprises three of the
thirteen channels available via the satellite: Nile TV International (news and feature
programs in English and French), Nile TV Dramatic Channels (dramatic arts), and
Specialized Nile TV Channels (sports events, family programs, variety events, etc.). In
addition to local channels, CNN, MSNBC and BBC are also available via satellite.
Radio operators:
- Public Radio: The Egyptian
Radio and Television Union (ERTU). ERTU signed the first Arab 5-year agreement with
Satellite Radio Company "World Space." The agreement stipulates the use of 3
satellite channels via Afristar which ditigizes the transmission and relays it to
the Arab region and parts of Africa.
- Private Radio: There are over
70 radio services (local and overseas) currently being transmitted in Egypt. Among them,
four radio services consisting of six networks are now being transmitted via satellite
channels to Europe and North America: the Main Network, the Arab Network, Youth and Sports
Network, the Holy Quran Network, and the Middle East Network, and the Music Network
Radios per 100
inhabitants: 31.2 (1995)
Television per
100 inhabitants: 18.3 (1999)
Cable TV
subscribers: na
Home satellite
dishes/antennas: 669,000 (1999)
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