When Abdelsalam Mohamed, a 29-year-old Egyptian woman, tried to renew her home internet plan to continue working, she noticed that a 600 GB plan that cost 550 Egyptian pounds ($11.83) per month now cost about 725 Egyptian pounds ($11.83). 15.59). “I couldn’t pay that much for the internet, so I had to change the package to 300 GB per month for 382 Egyptian pounds ($8.21),” Mohamed told Egypt Streets.
Telecom Egypt, Etisalat, Orange and Vodafone announced new prices for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) packages on January 2, 2024, which have been approved by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRAEG) and will be implemented from January 5 .
Price increases ranged from 29.41% to 33.33%. The lowest monthly plan for all companies starts at 160 Egyptian pounds ($3.44) for 140 GB, with a minimum speed of 30 megabits per second (Mbps) (excluding VAT).
When packets are consumed, Internet speed slows down to 265 kbps (kbps) without limit. This kind of speed makes the internet unable to work properly. However, users can purchase additional GB, from 20 GB to 100 GB, at prices ranging from 30 Egyptian pounds ($0.65) to 100 Egyptian pounds ($2.15).
“It’s already expensive, only lasts a month and disconnects for no reason,” Fadwa Mahmoud told Streets of Egypt. “It’s ridiculous to increase the price on something that is limited and mediocre. “
Egypt’s main internet provider Telecom Egypt said the price increase was an effort to maintain its services amid rising operating costs. This takes into account rising electricity and public transport prices as inflation falls.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) monthly inflation development report for January 2024, inflation has slowed, with the inflation rate in January 2024 at 29.8%, down from 33.7% in December 2023 and a peak of 38% in September 2023.
Nonetheless, the Egyptian pound depreciated by 33.58% following these events, from approximately 30.9 Egyptian pounds ($1) on March 5 to approximately 46.5 Egyptian pounds ($1) on March 23, signaling a changing and uncertain economy. Stablize. In Egypt.
Egyptians call for unlimited internet
These decisions and changes have prompted Egyptians to start demanding a re-evaluation of current internet quota packages and speeds, as well as unlimited internet.
A group of people have written a petition to Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly demanding unlimited home internet.
The statement thanked him for his continued efforts and development for the country and urged the need for digital advancement, which is the basis for all development projects and investments. Such digital developments include a re-evaluation of internet service prices 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 such as Telecom Egypt (WE), Vodafone, Etisalat and Orange have a monopoly on these basic services and therefore have the freedom to control prices.
“The growth rate is high, but the services and products are very unsatisfactory,” Esraa Ismael told Egyptian News. “It has limited uses, limited speed, and It’s unstable, so what are we paying for?”
A campaign calling for unlimited internet started in Egypt in 2022 eventually died out, but starting on March 16, 2024, the #Unlimited_Internet_In_Egypt hashtag gained traction on X (formerly Twitter) as prices increased.
X user Abouzaid tweeted that GB is not something made in Egypt, so there is no need to put a price tag on its quantity. Another user, Mahmoud, wrote on Twitter: “How do you want to have e-government and digital Egypt when Egypt does not have unlimited internet? Can you explain?”
Another hashtag used by Egyptians is #Limited_Internet. One user wrote: “Egyptian internet companies are scammers taking advantage of people. Not only is the internet quality sub-par, but they have also raised prices.”