The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said it will spend 513 million Egyptian pounds from the country’s Universal Service Fund (USF).
“This step is in line with the role of the NTRA to regulate and disseminate telecommunications services throughout the Arab Republic of Egypt, with the aim of strengthening national and social correlations and contributing to economic growth” said the NTRA, according to the Ecofin agency.
This is part of a continuing programme by the Egyptian government to improve people’s access to telecom services, with an emphasis was placed on rural areas and roads.
Sinai (pictured, from the ISS), east of the Suez Canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, has a population of around 600,000 in an area of 60,000 sq km.
The NTRA money will be used for the construction of cell sites in 30 urban areas and along four roads.
NTRA said: “This is in line with the state’s strategy to achieve sustainable and comprehensive growth, as well as to provide telecommunications services, in Sinai. This would in fact help to increase national income, create new employment opportunities and widen areas suitable for housing and growth.”
The Egyptian government, which has been engaged since last year in a programme of digital transformation of the country, has made universal access to telecom services a priority.
