Egypt’s internet boost for grandiose economic growth
Egypt invested $2 billion into its latest program to ambitiously unlock new economic growth by upgrading its metropolitan internet infrastructure to 43 Mbps to reach more than 60 million residents in rural areas.
The Minister of Communications Dr. Amr Talaat announced plans to capitalize a $360 million budget on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) spread across the country.
Since FTTH promises connection speeds reaching up to 100 Mbps, optical fiber internet speeds will be 20 to 100 times faster than a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection.
“We want to improve internet connectivity for 60 million Egyptians living in around 4,500 villages by upgrading broadband infrastructure,” Dr. Talaat stated.
“We plan to invest more than $360 million to connect one million households with fiber-optic cables that will ensure youth can access the internet and thus the knowledge, training, and career opportunities offered by the digital world,” he added.
The program, which magnifies Egypt’s internet speed, first came to light in June 2020 when the government disclosed its plot to empower internet services infrastructure by unraveling a much faster internet connection. By April 2020, internet speed hit a minimum of 39.6 Mbps.
In addition to improving internet speed, an investment with an estimate of $63 million to upgrade mobile networks in the country’s main roads and residential areas will be put into action.
During “The Demographic Divide: Youth and Innovation for Transforming Africa” workshop, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stressed the vitality of empowering youth intellect and capabilities by providing the necessary tools to create the needed ecosystem for youth prosperity.
“Africa is considered the youngest continent on the planet, with around 60 percent of its population under the age of 25. There is no more urgent or important topic than youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and digital innovation. Creating a framework to support the youth is vital; Africa’s future depends on it,” Dr. Al-Mashat said in a statement.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) announced its “Our Future is Digital” initiative to provide job opportunities in technological fields to 100,000 young Egyptians to elevate their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills such as website design, data analysis, and digital marketing.
Egypt’s ICT sector is witnessing a mighty rebirth.
The sector welcomed a 15.2 percent surge in its telecommunications revenue Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2019-2020 fiscal year. It led to a 4.4 percent increase compared to 3.5 percent of the 2018-2019 fiscal year, with a total investment margin rise reaching $35 billion.
The government is currently maintaining its focus on making the shift to digital economy to rush Egypt’s digital transformation by offering prospects and resources to ICT companies provided to U.S. firms with reliable technologies and competitive pricing opportunities to invest in its sector.