CAIRO: Egypt's communications and information technology sector generated LE 28 billion in the last two years, mainly driven by investments in Egypt's third mobile operator and 3G mobile licenses, said IT Minister Tarek Kamel on Thursday. "The sector is growing at unprecedented rates, he stated. "Revenues of operators are growing by some 30 percent per year.. Egypt adds one million mobile subscribers each month. We have so far 25,000 households connected to ADSL, and Internet penetration grows 20 percent annually. The minister explained that growth in IT sectors reflects on the country's overall GDP, which now stands at more than seven percent, helping push the economy forward. Egypt's communications sector is Egypt's fourth fastest growing sector at 13-15 percent. According to the Ministry's records, the number of mobile phone subscribers reached 30.047 million at the end of 2007, up from 18.001 million at the end of 2006. Mobile penetration was at 40.6 percent of the population at year-end and is expected to exceed 50 percent at the end of this year. "In the year 2010, 50 million of Egypt's population will be online, whether through mobile or Internet connectivity, Kamel added. According to the Ministry's records, the number of mobile phone subscribers reached 30.047 million at the end of 2007, up from 18.001 million at the end of 2006. Mobile penetration was at 40.6 percent of the population at year-end and is expected to exceed 50 percent at the end of this year. "In the year 2010, 50 million of Egypt's population will be online, whether through mobile or Internet connectivity, Kamel added. Number of mobile phone subscribers has been on the rise, with MobiNil grabbing the biggest share at some 16 million subscribers. Vodafone Egypt comes second at 14.5 million subscribers, while Etisalat Egypt has managed to pull in around 1.5 million subscribers since it began operations last May. Fixed-line density increased to 15.2 percent at the end of 2007, compared to 15 percent in 2006, while Internet penetration is roughly at 12 percent versus 8.3 percent in 2006. The number of Internet subscribers rose to 8.6 million last December, whereas the number of ADSL users increased to 427,085. "Internet revenues are now recognized as a contributor to social and economic development in the country, Kamel said. He pointed to education as a working example of integrating information technology in the learning process. In the May 2006, the government announced that it was adopting the World Economic Forum's Global Education Initiative, a move that aims to make Egypt a techno-savvy nation. Since its launch, the minister added, the Egyptian Education Initiative has delivered over 39,000 computers and 2,000 data shows to public schools across the country. It has also equipped 900 schools with ADSL. The initiative brought IT learning labs to Egypt's 18 universities and certified more than 400 local academies as e-learning centers, serving schools, universities and NGOs. Commenting on Egypt's most anticipated second landline license, Minister Kamel said that Egyptian consumers deserve competition, which leads to better services and better prices. "Take the example of [entry] of new mobile players: competition grew and users were offered better services at competitive prices. The ministry announced last summer auctioning off Egypt's second fixed-line license, which will end state-run Telecom Egypt s fixed-line monopoly. "We're doing it to provide additional telecommunications services, improve infrastructure, and better serve consumers, he pointed out. "The new [operator] will not jeopardize Telecom Egypt. It is a robust company that has [long] been investing in IT infrastructure. According to the Ministry, around 12 companies have so far expressed interest in buying the license. These include a consortium of Orascom Telecom and France Telecom, Egypt s Alkan, Egypt s Giza Systems, Emirate-based Etisalat, and Saudi s Atheeb group, Raya Technology and Communication, Alcatel-Lucent, and Kuwaiti investment firm Noor Financial Company. Competing companies should have a base of at least 500,000 subscribers and minimum revenues of $500 million a year. The deadline for bidding for the license is set for July 29. The minister's remarks were made at an event organized Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt to announce the chamber's annual financial results. "This year, the chamber has achieved 30 percent growth in revenues . which totaled $4.5 million, said Yasser El Mallawany, chairman of EFG-Hermes Holdings and the chamber's treasurer.
