Egypt  - Readiness for the Networked World                             

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Networked Society

The start of internet service began in October, 1993 through a link between Egypt’s universities and France.  At this time, there were approximately 2,000 internet users in the academic sub-domain.  Two other sub-domains, commercial and government were added as Egypt expanded its network connections.

In 1994, a joint effort was started between the Egyptian Cabinet Information, the Decision Support Center (IDSC), and the Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center (RITSEC) to increase internet awareness and usage.

Through this joint effort, free internet access and accounts were provided to Egypt’s corporations, government and  non-government entities, and professionals. Many businesses used the internet to promote their products and services, to perform research, and to interact with their business partners while business professionals used the internet as a tool to increase their knowledge and exposure in various sectors.

By 1996, free access was replaced by an open access policy where private ISP providers offered internet services for a fee. Although the services offered were at reasonable rates, the Networked Society continued to be challenged by socioeconomic problems such as poverty, high illiteracy rates, and unemployment, ultimately impacting Egypt’s ability to increase its internet user population. 

People and Organizations Online (Stage 3)

Organizations had a jump start in understanding the benefits of utilizing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to enhance its business processes.  Since the creation of the Information and Decision Support Center in 1985, the goal of this cabinet has been to provide training on information technology to the workforce. 

Many initiatives have been started resulting in opening more than 35 training centers across Egypt to train government employees and recent college graduates. In addition to these efforts, in 2002 a national ICT plan was established by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology resulting in the creation of the Technology Access Community Centers (TACCs), partnering with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and forming IT clubs.

A TACC resembles an internet café.  Computers, telephones, faxes, printers and internet connection are provided in less fortunate communities.  These centers also provide training to private groups, low-income groups and individuals about information technology.

IT clubs are similar to TACCs, but are mainly located in urban and suburban areas with similar computer training and services.  The different IT clubs have established portals with relevant information for each community.  These portals include information on news, employment opportunities, education, health, etc. There are approximately 1,200 IT clubs with future expansion plans to all Egyptian villages.

Although major projects have been started to close the gap between the “haves” and “have nots,” there is still much work to be done as evidenced by the current internet access penetration rates listed below.

Locally Relevant Content (Stage 3)

Locally relevant content is necessary to encourage and elevate interest in the internet.  It is especially important to those individuals seeking answers to everyday life questions.  A major obstacle for Egypt is the internet’s primarily English content.  Along with high illiteracy rates, many Egyptians only speak Arabic. 

At the international level, The Library of Alexandria is working on the digitizing of one million books in Arabic to make available over the internet.  Another content initiative was launched by MCIT in 2005 that focuses on developing internet content in Arabic. TACCs and IT clubs have also aimed to create portals with locally relevant content in Arabic.

The lack of computer penetration also affects the availability of locally relevant content.  As users become more acclimated to accessing the internet, they are more likely to become contributors of content.  As of 2005, due to high taxation levied against hardware and software, PC penetration of all households in Egypt was at 3.5% . 

Basically, the root of insufficient content is resources.  Whether, financial, technical, political, educational, or cultural – resources are needed to develop and further enhance Egypt’s current status in ICT.

Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life (Stage 3)

A digital divide is the gap between urban and rural communities where there is a noticeable difference in  information and communication technology available.  In terms of communication tools in Egypt such as radio and television, household access between rural and urban areas is more consistent compared to other ICTs. 2005 Statistics:

 Clearly opportunity exists for major improvements in ICT usage in everyday life including urban areas.  In 2002, Egypt’s Ministry of Communication and Technology launched the Free Internet Initiative.  The goal of this initiative was to provide nationwide affordable access.  The word free doesn’t mean that internet access was totally free.  What it did mean was Egypt’s ISPs would waive normal subscription charges and subscribers would be charged the price of local phones calls when connecting to the internet. 

The Free Initiative model was shared between ISPs and Telecom Egypt. Several ISPs co-located their equipment at Telecom Egypt local exchanges so that calls could be serviced by local exchanges and rerouted to the ISP.  The ISPs and Telecom Egypt share revenue from this initiative.  This initiative has led to a steady increase year after year in the number of internet users and quality.    

A survey was conducted in October 2003 by MCIT of over 8500 households of internet users. Some of the key findings included:

• The largest group of users was between the ages of 18-25 (42%).
• The internet is mainly used for work and gaining knowledge (48%).
• Over 68% of these users started using the internet after the “Free” Internet initiative.
• There is an average of 2 users per household.
• Internet users who don’t have access are regularly hosted by households with access 24%.

Information and Communication Technologies in the Workplace (Stage 3)

In spite of Egypt’s cultural challenge, Egypt definitely has strategies in place to continuously develop and improve ICT in the workplace.  Through the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, many projects have been conceived to foster change and growth in ICT and the workplace.

Egypt has formed numerous alliances with major corporations to bring training and development in ICT to a higher level. They have partnerships with Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, and IBM.  The agreements with these companies are to train over 5,000 professionals in IT to upgrade current skill levels and keep Egypt competitive within this sector.

For example, MCIT signed an agreement with Cisco to train 1,000 ICT students a year.  Cisco would later build two training academies for this purpose and would also use the sites as their training facilities.  In May, 2001 the first phase began with Egyptian instructors who were trained at Cisco’s U.S. and Europe locations. Egypt has aggressive ICT growth plans for the future.

A major requirement for Egypt to meet the 2015 target is gap closures in the educational system and gender equality.  As Egypt continues to pour more investments into the infrastructure of ICT, it also needs to invest just as much in the educational system.  Women in particular, represent 33% of the professional and technical staff.  It would be a good idea for Egypt to tap into this underserved group.  What good is the infrastructure, if there aren’t skilled people to support it?