Two years on from the launch of Egypt's free Internet initiative consumers have another choice: ADSL, also known as "broadband". Niveen Wahish reports Nasser Mohamed Al-Kharafi expressed his pride, happiness and gratitude that Al-Kharafi Group will take over the construction process of the International Gaber Stadium in Kuwait, especially that it is named after the Kuwaiti Emir who has led his nation to prosperity during his reign. Al-Kharafi explained that this edifice will fulfill the dreams of the Kuwaiti youth who have awaited such a construction for many years. This stadium will enable Kuwait to host important national and international sporting events. Al-Kharafi thanked the Kuwaiti Crown Emir and prime minister, may God protect him, and the Head of General Authority of Youth and Sports Sheikh Fahd Al-Gaber, as well as the officials concerned with the development of the country. Also, he expressed his sincere thanks to the minister of public works for the ministry's contributions to the renaissance of the country. Located in Al-Aridiya area, the International Gaber Stadium's capacity will be 60,000 spectators. "It will be one of the biggest sporting edifices in the Middle East," said the Minister of Public Works Bedeir Al- Hamidi. Built on 400,000 square metres, the construction plan of the stadium was carefully reviewed to keep up with the-state-of-the-art systems. All the stadium's seats will be made of moveable plastic, and the stadium will be fully prepared for TV broadcasting. The contract of the construction of the stadium was signed last Saturday in the headquarters of the ministry of public works. Among the attendance at the signing ceremony were the Minister of Energy Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahd, Head of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Sheikh Fahd Al-Gaber, a number of members of the Nation Council, media men, as well as Luai Gassem Al-Kharafi and Marzouq Nasser Al- Kharafi. The construction works are expected to finish in October 2006. The stadium will be a nucleus of an integrated sporting complex that will include a multi-purpose hall, a number of Olympic swimming pools, in addition to a 6,500-capacity parking area. Following the signing of the contract, Mr Marzouq Al-Kharafi said: "When the pillars of this edifice rise, it will be a source of pride for the coming sportsmen generations. It is a project constructed by the hands of Kuwaiti cadres to stand as a sign of the country's progress and modernity." Luai Gassem Al-Kharafi said: "Al- Kharafi Group proves that it is a pioneer in constructing large projects that contribute to the development of the country, such as the sewerage project, the contract of which we won after a fierce competition with international companies. It also implemented huge projects in several Arab countries. Thus, the group was keen to employ its potentials and experience in this edifice bearing the name of our dear emir, may God protect him." He added, "This large project reflects the group's national duty towards the Kuwaiti people, the nation, his highness the emir of Kuwait, and his excellency the prime minister." Costing 55.25 million Kuwaiti dinars, the project will include an international playground surrounded by a track connected with a tunnel linking it to the outside playgrounds. The stadium will have four main entries to the playground (two for services and two for players). It will include also rooms for players, medical workers, coaches, referees, as well as rooms for exercises, warming-up, changing clothes, swimming pool (14 metres x 7.5 metres), sauna, a fully equipped clinic, and rooms for meeting, results registration, the stadium's services department, policemen, ambulance, firemen, technical services, and water tanks. The first storey consists of a main entry, rest room, a place for prayer, escalators, parking area, airstrip for helicopters, two outside playgrounds and other facilities. The second storey will include the royal room, senior officials rest room, along with a glass escalator leading to the playground in addition to flat screens. The services department will include rooms for the secretariat, glass museum, meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall, rooms for media, satellite broadcasting and press conferences. It will also include two storeys having a commanding view of the playground, cafeteria, press conferences hall, TV and radio commentators, guards, policemen, ambulance, the main monitoring room as well as places for the disabled. The design of the stadium takes the shape of the Kuwaiti owl, and its cover resembles a saddle. This design is a representation of the land and marine environments of the country. The stadium also includes two large screens hung over the roof of the main stand behind the two goals, in addition to screens in the closed places. With 10 gates leading to it, the western side of the stadium will be dedicated to senior officials and visitors, media men and players. It's all over the papers and now it's on television too. Colourful advertisements are announcing the availability of ADSL -- short for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line -- also known as "broadband". It is a technology that provides users with an always-online high- speed Internet connection that is five to 100 times faster than existing dial-up connections. The advantage of the system is that the phone line remains accessible to receive and make voice calls as usual, and it requires no new wiring. Although the service has been available in Egypt for over a year, it has been largely inaccessible because of price. Earlier this month, the government announced the "broadband initiative", whereby the cost of the service would be slashed by 50 per cent. It seems the government hit a chord with its initiative. The day it was announced, companies received 800 calls inquiring about the service. Before the initiative was launched, ADSL had a mere 5,000 subscribers. The new plan aims to secure some 40,000 customers during its first year. To attract new subscribers, a flat rate of LE150 per month for the basic 256Kb-per-second plan is charged. That rate does not include the price of the hardware needed to connect to the service. The price of the modem averages around LE500. It can be supplied by the Internet service provider (ISP) or purchased from any computer supply shop. Accordingly, having received volume-related price cuts from Telecom Egypt -- the incumbent operator -- on such key services as international lines, ISPs have been able to cut their own prices. And they are counting on establishing a larger customer base in order to create economies of scale. "These prices will only make sense with a larger number of users. The current size is not sufficient," said Khaled Bishara, CEO of LinkDotNet, one of the eight ISPs providing ADSL. But not everyone is a potential ADSL user. Despite the price cuts, the service remains costly for the majority. A user who pays LE50 to LE80 on their quarterly telephone bill for Internet dial-up will probably not go over to ADSL. The more regular dial-up user, however, will probably prefer ADSL. "Broadband is for the heavy users," said Tareq Kamel, advisor to the minister of communications and information technology. "If their average monthly bill for dial-up Internet is LE100, they'll go the extra mile for the additional advantages," he said. He also stressed that broadband is not competing with dial-ups. "We are not targeting the user of the free Internet. We want [broadband usage] to increase and spread," he said. Currently there are over three million Internet users in Egypt. Emad El-Azhari, managing director of TE Data -- another of the ISPs providing ADSL -- sees the evolution of ADSL going the same way as dial-up connections. He estimates that in three years there will be some 100,000 ADSL subscribers. With such a large subscriber base, experts see a change in the kind of services provided. "New services will be introduced," he said. Higher speeds will be reflected in new applications, Kamel explains. It can be particularly useful in areas such as education and health. Bishara holds a similar view, but stresses that such significant development will not take place soon, but only when there is a greater number of users. To subscribe to ADSL, customers need to contact any of the eight ISPs. They sign a contract with the ISP who in turn makes the necessary modifications with Telecom Egypt to make sure that ADSL can be delivered over the phone line. Then the ISP sends a technician to install the service. ADSL services require the installation of an additional ADSL modem at the customer's home. According to the new initiative the process should not take more than a week, but in practice installation is taking more time. According to El- Azhari, the delay is mostly caused by people's lack of familiarity with the new technology. "If users started to understand how to plug in the modem and configure their computer, that would save a lot of time," he said. But it may not all be smooth surfing with ADSL, at least for Egypt-based users. Some customers may still have to use dial-up Internet to access certain sites that can only be accessed from Egypt through a specific number. That is the case unless that site has a contract with the ADSL providers to make its site available to them in exchange for a fee. Currently these sites are using the dial-up option to generate revenue. But that, El-Azhari believes, is the wrong strategy. "If they have content which is valuable enough for people, then they should make it accessible for a fee in the form of a subscription." But Omar Sami of Al- Ahram Management and Al- Ahram Organisation's Computer Centre explains that due to the fact that e-payment in Egypt is underdeveloped, locking a site on a certain number is the only way to generate revenue, particularly from the local market where the Internet may affect the actual sale of Al-Ahram publications. But that may change as e-payment develops in Egypt, he said. Currently ISPs share revenue with Telecom Egypt on the price of the call. Advertisement as a means of generating revenue also remains underdeveloped. "The culture is still growing," said Kamel. For now, the government initiative will seek to make ADSL available across the country. A national awareness campaign for the service will be launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, but "we are waiting until the initial rush on providers cools down," said Kamel. For more information about this service visit www.broadband.com.eg
