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Telecommunications in Egypt

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Egypt has long been the cultural and informational centre of the Arab world, and Cairo is the region's largest publishing and broadcasting centre.

Telecommunication in Egypt

Press

There are eight daily newspapers with a total circulation of more than 2 million, and a number of monthly newspapers, magazines, and journals. The majority of political parties have their own newspapers, and these papers conduct a lively, often highly partisan, debate on public issues.

Mail

Egypt Post is the government-owned body that provide postal services. Mail post is never considered as a reliable communication mean in Egypt.

Radio

See also Egyptian Radio and Television Union & List of FM radio stations in Egypt

Radio in Egypt is almost all government controlled, using 44 short-wave frequencies, 18 medium-wave stations, and four[citation needed] FM stations. There are seven regional radio stations covering the country. Egyptian Radio transmits 60 hours daily overseas in 33 languages and three hundred hours daily within Egypt. In 2000, Radio Cairo introduced new specialized (thematic) channels on its FM station. So far, they include news, music, and sports. Radio enjoys more freedom than TV in its news programs, talk shows and analysis.

Starting 2003, Nile Radio Production a private company was given license to operate two radio stations, Nile FM and Nogoom FM. Nile FM broadcasts in English and Nogoom FM broadcasts in Arabic. Both stations mostly broadcast mainly to the Greater Cairo region. In the early 2009, Radio Masr was launched, broadcasting popular Egyptian songs, news & other programs.

Television

See also Egyptian television

Egyptian ground-broadcast television (ERTU) is government controlled and depends heavily on commercial revenue. ETV sells its specially produced programs and soap operas to the entire Arab world. ETV has two main channels, six regional channels, and three satellite channels. Of the two main channels, Channel I uses mainly Arabic, while Channel II is dedicated to foreigners and more cultured viewers, broadcasting news in English and French as well as Arabic.

Egyptian Satellite channels broadcast to the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. East Coast. In April 1998, Egypt launched its own satellite known as NileSat 101. Seven specialized channels cover news, culture, sports, education, entertainment, health, and drama. A second, digital satellite, Nilesat 102, was launched in August 2000. Many of its channels are rented to other stations.

Three new private satellite-based TV stations were launched in November 2001, marking a great change in Egyptian government policy. Dream TV 1 and 2 produce cultural programming, broadcast contemporary video clips and films featuring Arab and international actors, as well as soap operas; another private station focuses on business and general news. Both private channels transmit on NileSat.

In addition to Egyptian programming, the Middle East Broadcast Company, a Saudi television station transmitting from London (MBC), Arab Radio and Television (ART), Al-Jazeera television, and other Gulf stations as well as Western networks such as CNN and BBC, provide access to more international programs to Egyptians who own satellite receivers.

Landline telephony

Currently, there is a single company in charge of Landline Telephony, Telecom Egypt which is also government-controlled. The government is planning to start the process for licensing a second national operator for voice and transport services by 2008, with a view to this company starting operations in 2009.

Cellular communications

Currently, there are three companies which offer cellular communication service: Orange, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt. These companies are providing services surpassing voice communication such as 3G and 3.75G services.

Internet

Main article: Internet in Egypt

The Internet companies market is dealt to two: infrastructure providers and service providers.

There are 8 major Service Provider companies which sell their services to smaller ISPs. The highest available speed through ADSL technologies was upgraded to 8Mb in download in February 2008 and then to 24Mb later that year. The Egyptian ISP market is fully liberalized and highly competitive,[citation needed] at least in Cairo and Alexandria, with over 220 ISPs offering a range of services, including dedicated, dial-up, pre-paid and premium services. With the introduction of ADSL for homes and businesses, more subscribers are introduced into the market. It is expected that by the end of 2010 high-speed Internet access will be available across the entire country.

Orascom, one of the shareholders in the leading cellular operator MobiNil, is also the biggest player in the Internet service provision market and owns 75 per cent of one of Egypt’s largest ISP, LINKdotNET. The tie-up with the mobile operator is significant in that WAP services were introduced in May for a trial period, making Egypt one of the first countries in Africa to have introduced WAP.

NileOnline and Egynet has been recently sold to Etisalat, increasing Etisalat access into the broadband market. with this acquisition all class I tier ISPs mentioned above are owned by the major telecommunication companies operating in the country.

Raya is owned by Vodafone Egypt, Nileonline and Egynet are now owned by Etisalat, TEdata is owned and operated by the oldest telecom company in the region telecom Egypt and link.net is owned by Orascom telecom.

On January 27, 2011, almost all internet connectivity to Egypt was shut off by the Egyptian government.[1]

Wireless Internet

Egypt is following closely the efforts to standardize WiMax technologies as they permit simpler and faster access to Internet services, especially as WiMax receivers are integrated into PC processors. The government is still also holding discussions with relevant stakeholders to determine the best policy framework for introducing WiMax into the market through existing or new operators.

Communication companies in Egypt

Landline telephony service

Cellular communication service

Statistics

Telephones
main lines in use: 10.808 million (2006)
Telephones
mobile cellular: 30.047 million (2007)
Telephone system
large system; underwent extensive upgrading during the 1990s and is reasonably modern; Telecom Egypt, the landline monopoly, has been increasing service availability and in 2006 fixed-line density stood at 14 per 100 persons; as of 2007 there were three mobile-cellular networks and service is expanding rapidly
domestic
principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
International
landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 AND SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks; linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to Israel; a participant in Medarabtel
Radio broadcast stations
AM 42 (plus 15 repeaters), FM 14, shortwave 3 (1999)
Radios
3.07 million (1997)
Television Broadcast Stations
98 (1995)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
220 (2008)
Internet Hosts
5,363 (2007)
People connected to the internet
12,568,900(As of June 2009)
Country codes
.EG (Top-level domain)

Telephone prefixes

Country code: +20

Mobile services:

  • Etisalat: 011
  • Orange : 012
  • Vodafone: 010
Cairo (Capital)
2

(Includes following cities: Cairo, Giza, 6th Of October, Helwan, New Cairo)

Alexandria
3
Banha
13
10th of Ramadan
15
Tanta
40
Damanhour
45
Marsa Matrouh
46
Kafer El Sheik
47
Menouf
48
Mansoura
50
Zagazig
55
Damiette
57
Suez
62
Ismailia
64
Red Sea
65
Port Said
66
El Arish
68
El Tour
69
Bani Suef
82
Fayyoum
84
Minia
86
Assiout
88
El Wadi El Gedid
92
Sohag
93
Luxor
95
Qena
96
Aswan
97

See also

References

  1. ^ Egypt Leaves the Internet - Renesys.com
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