Head of the Egyptian Space Agency Mohamed El-Qousy said on Thursday that Tiba 1 is set to be operational within three months of its launching day. The satellite will cover Egypt and provide telecommunication and internet services in remote and isolated areas, he added. The Egyptian Space Agency said Tiba 1 differs from NileSat, which provides broadcasting satellite services. Tiba 1 is expected to provide only internet and telecommunication services covering the entire country. The satellite will work in alignment with the current land communication network. It will be available to receive the internet beamed down from space via paid subscription to a company that will be established later. Tiba 1 will help Egyptian banks and other facilities to overcome problems resulting from system breakdowns and facilitate e-payment and other public electronic services. The satellite will promote tele-learning and tele-medicine as an offset against under-resourced schools and hospitals, and offer strong telecom networks for the social insurance system which will cover all of Egypt's governorates. Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday that launching the first Egyptian satellite for communication purposes is a great leap in the ICT sector that will help support the national comprehensive development efforts. The minister noted that the move falls within the framework of efforts to achieve Egypt's sustainable development strategy 2030, pointing out that Tiba 1 will help provide communication services to the public and trade sectors. It will offer full communication coverage to some states in North Africa and the Nile Basin countries and contribute to pushing forward the development process via providing telecommunication infrastructure and broadband internet to remote and isolated areas, Talaat added. Launching Tiba 1 will also contribute to developing the petroleum, energy and mineral wealth, education, health and other governmental sectors and will assist all state bodies in combating crime and terrorism, he added.
