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Mobile phone users in Egypt saw improved services in Q4 of 2024: NTRA - Society

Mobile phone users in Egypt saw improved services in Q4 of 2024: NTRA - Society

Al-Ahram Weekly19-03-2025
Mobile phone users in Egypt saw improved voice, internet, and data transmission services in the final quarter of 2024, according to an official assessment by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA).
The NTRA, part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), assessed 139,000 kilometres of cities and villages, using specialized equipment to test voice calls and data services.
Voice service evaluations have been enhanced to include Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology, improving call quality. According to the MCIT, Egypt's active mobile subscriptions reached 84.2 million in December 2024, up from 83.8 million a year earlier.
The NTRA report's findings, based on key performance indicators (KPIs), indicate notable improvements in service quality across 114 areas.
Operator performance overview
Vodafone reported improvements in service quality, with areas of poor voice service decreasing from six to two, and areas with poor data transmission dropping from six to four between October and December 2024.
The company's average download speed also rose from 50 Mbps to 52 Mbps during the same period.
Orange, however, saw an increase in areas with poor voice service, which rose from four in October to eight in December. While its data transmission quality remained stable, with no areas reporting poor performance, the company's average download speed improved slightly from 46 Mbps to 48 Mbps.
E& reported gains in both voice and data quality, with poor voice service areas decreasing from 11 to seven, and poor data transmission areas dropping from four to three. The company's average download speed rose from 55 Mbps to 57 Mbps.
WE maintained stable data transmission quality, with just one area reporting poor performance in October and December 2024.
Further, its average download speed declined from 88 Mbps to 83 Mbps. On the voice service front, poor-quality areas dropped from five to two over the same period.
Fastest fixed internet in Africa
In a significant milestone, Egypt was awarded the 2024 Speedtest Award for Africa's fastest fixed internet by Ookla, the global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights.
As part of its digital infrastructure expansion, Egypt is replacing copper cables with fibre optic networks, aiming to deliver high-speed internet to 60 million citizens across 4,500 villages. This initiative is a key component of the Digital Egypt Strategy, which seeks to enhance connectivity and build a robust digital economy.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat highlighted Egypt's $3.5 billion investment in digital infrastructure, which has helped increase the country's average fixed broadband speed from 5.4 Mbps in December 2017 to 80.3 Mbps in January 2025.
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