Egypt's broadband plan delayed

Headed by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the national broadband plan is intended to increase broadband penetration across Egypt and provide 11,000 jobs every year. It was officially launched in July.

Handy Mahmoud, who was appointed the communications minister in August, has proposed unifying the telecoms licences between the three mobile operators and the state-owned fixed line operator Telecom Egypt (TE) to enable all four to offer both internet and mobile services.

"The NTRA is working with all mobile operators to build a business model for the national broadband infrastructure," said Mr Mahmoud.

TE now owns and operates the broadband infrastructure of the country. As part of the plan, it is changing the main copper lines to fibre optics cables, which is expected to take three and a half years to complete. Changes to TE's board have also held back negotiations. Akil Beshir stepped down this month after 12 years as chairman, replaced by Omar El Sheikh, the former director of public relations at Vodafone Egypt.