When Abdelsalam Mohamed, a 29-year-old Egyptian woman, tried to update her home internet package to continue working, she discovered that a 600-gigabyte package that used to cost 550 Egyptian pounds (US$11.83) per month now costs about 725 Egyptian pounds. (USD). 15.59). “I can’t afford to pay that much for the internet, so I had to change my package to 382 Egyptian pounds (US$8.21) for 300 gigabytes per month,” Mohamed told Egyptian Her Street.
Telecom Egypt, Etisalat, Orange and Vodafone announced on January 2, 2024 new prices for their Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) packages. This price has been approved by Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRAEG) and will be applicable from January 5th.
Prices increased in the range of 29.41 percent to 33.33 percent. The minimum monthly package for all businesses starts at 160 Egyptian Pounds ($3.44 USD) for 140 gigabytes (GB) with a minimum speed of 30 megabits per second (Mbps), excluding VAT.
Once the package is consumed, your internet speed will be reduced to 265 kilobits per second (kbps) without limit. At this speed the internet will not work. However, users can purchase additional GB from 20 GB to 100 GB at prices ranging from 30 EGP (USD 0.65) to 100 EGP (USD 2.15).
“It was already expensive, lasted barely a month, and sometimes disconnected for no apparent reason,” Fadwa Mahmoud told Egypt Street. “Raising prices for something so limited and mediocre is ridiculous.”
Telekom Egypt, Egypt’s main internet provider, said the price hike was to maintain service amid rising operating costs. This takes into account increases in electricity prices and public transportation prices due to a decline in the inflation rate.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Monthly Inflation Trends Report for January 2024, the inflation rate has slowed, reaching 29.8% in January 2024, 33.7% in December 2023 and 33.7% in September 2023. This was down from a peak of 38%.
Nevertheless, after these events, the Egyptian pound depreciated by 33.58 percent from about 30.9 Egyptian pounds (1 USD) on March 5th, reaching about 46.5 Egyptian pounds (1 USD) on March 23rd, and by the minute This showed an unstable economy. In Egypt.
Egyptians want unlimited internet
Due to these decisions and changes, Egyptians have started demanding not only unlimited internet, but also a re-evaluation of their current internet allocation packages and speeds.
A group of people has written a petition to Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly calling for unlimited home internet.
The statement thanked him for his continued efforts and the country’s progress, and emphasized the need for digital progress to be fundamental to all development projects and investments. These digital developments include a reassessment of the price of internet services and unlimited internet where prices are calculated based on speed rather than usage.
Retweet🔁🔄#الانترنت_المحدود #انترنت_غير_محدود_في_مصر pic.twitter.com/zfZtcXHJYg
— Eng. Mohamed AL_kinğ🇵🇸 (@Boulaki0) March 16, 2024
The petition also states that internet service providers Telekom Egypt (WE), Vodafone, Etisalat and Orange have a monopoly on these basic services and therefore have the freedom to control prices.
“The rate of increase is high in exchange for very unsatisfactory services and products,” Esraa Ismael told Egypt News. “Usage is limited, speed is limited, and it’s unstable. So what are you paying for?”
The campaign for unlimited internet in Egypt started in 2022 but died out, but from March 16, 2024, the hashtag #Unlimited_Internet_In_Egypt will be used on X (previously known as Twitter) in response to the price hike. ), it regained momentum.
X user Abouzaid tweeted that since GB is not manufactured in Egypt, there is no need to put a price tag on volume. Another user, Mahmoud, tweeted: “How do you want to achieve e-government and digital Egypt when there is no unlimited internet in Egypt?” Can you explain? “
Another hashtag used by Egyptians is #Limited_Internet. One user said, “Egyptian internet companies are scammers taking advantage of people. Not only is the quality of the internet substandard, but the prices have also been increased.”
