2019 Egypt - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 20 May 2020 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 149

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Publication Overview

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Egypt’s telecommunications market. The report analyses the fixed-line, mobile and broadband sectors. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
Facts, figures and statistics;
Industry and regulatory issues;
Infrastructure developments;
Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU, MoU;
Mobile Voice and Data Markets;
Broadband (FttP, DSL, cable, wireless);
Mobile subscribers and ARPU;
Broadband market forecasts;
Government policies affecting the telecoms industry;
Market liberalisation and industry issues;
Telecoms operators – privatisation, IPOs, acquisitions, new licences;
Mobile technologies (GSM; 3G, HSPA, LTE, 5G).

Researcher:- Henry Lancaster
Current publication date:- October 2019 (18th Edition)

Executive Summary

Egypt on track to replace 95% of copper infrastructure with fibre by 2020

Supported by a population of about 95 million, Egypt has one of the largest telecom markets in North Africa. There is effective competition in most sectors, and this has been supported by the award of unified licences to allow operators to offer fixed-line as well as mobile services.

The government in recent months has endeavoured to secure billions of dollars in funding to roll out next-generation networks, develop technology parks and extend broadband availability. In terms of investment, and in smart infrastructure developments, the government’s ambitions to develop a new capital city east of Cairo promises to be a catalyst for an intensification in the deployment of 5G and fibre networks in coming years.

Egypt has one of the largest mobile telecom markets in Africa, with effective competition and a penetration rate of about 94%. Although the country was among the first countries in the region to launch 3G mobile services, the development of LTE services was delayed by the late issuing of licenses. Telecom Egypt in mid-2019 began trialling 5G and building a 5G network.

The country’s geographical position has enabled it to capitalise on the numerous cables which cross through it, interconnecting various parts of Europe with the Middle East and Asia. Egypt also has considerable domestic fibre infrastructure which can tap into cables at several points. This has helped considerably increase bandwidth availability for internet users. The extensive bandwidth, together with effective market competition, has meant that Egypt offers some of the lowest prices for DSL services on the continent.

This report outlines the major developments in the Egyptian telecom sector, including national and international network developments and covering government efforts to improve connectivity in rural and remote areas. The market also reviews the mobile market, providing statistics and profiles of the network operators as well as an assessment of the licensing regime and operator strategies relating to mobile broadband and 5G. In addition, the report assesses the fixed broadband sector, providing subscriber forecasts and reviewing the development of fibre as part of efforts to extend the availability of upgraded internet services.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.

Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.

The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.

Key developments:

Government planning to replace 95% of copper infrastructure with fibre by 2020;
Work begins on planning a EGP40 billion telecom infrastructure for the proposed new capital city;
Telecom Egypt and Liquid Telecom agree to expedite the roll out of fibre networks across North Africa;
Orange Egypt, Vodafone, Telecom Egypt sign $2 billion infrastructure sharing deal;
SEA-ME-WE 5 cable comes online to add additional international internet capacity;
Telecom Egypt contracts Nokia to develop a 5G network;
Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt sign ten-year infrastructure sharing agreement;
Vodafone Egypt sees continuing subscriber decline into 2019;
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to June 2019, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q2 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telecom Egypt, Menatel, NilePhone, Raya Telecom, Orange Egypt (Mobinil, ECMS, Orascom Telecom, Global Telecom Holding), Vodafone Egypt, Etisalat Misr, Thuraya, Iridium, Inmarsat, Alkan Communications, EgyptSat, MobiServe, EgyNet, LINKdotNET, Nile Online, Yalla, Equant, Noor, Vodafone Data (Raya Telecom), Batelco, Soficom, Egypt Network, Internet Egypt, MenaNet, MenaSat, iSkySat, StormSat Egypt, PLC International

Key statistics

Country overview

COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Mobile devices
Subscribers
Infrastructure

Telecommunications market

Historical overview
Market analysis
Regional Africa Market Comparison

TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband
Fixed and mobile broadband

Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authorities

National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA)
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

New Regulatory Framework
Telecommunications Master Plan
Legislative reform
Unified Telecom License (UTL)
Privatisation of Telecom Egypt
Telecom sector liberalisation

International gateway licences
International submarine cable licence

Interconnection

Fixed network operators

Telecom Egypt

Services

Etisalat Misr

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
Public payphones
Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
Data centres
International infrastructure

Terrestrial
Submarine fibre
Satellite
Cairo Regional Internet Exchange (CRIX)

Smart infrastructure

Broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
Free Internet project
National Broadband Plan
Public internet access locations
Broadband statistics

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Vodafone Egypt
EgyNet
LINKdotNET
Nile Online (NOL)
TE Data

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed broadband services

Wireless broadband
Broadband via satellite
Broadband over Powerlines (BPL)

Digital economy

E-commerce
Information Highway Project
E-government
E-learning
GLORIAD (Academic sector)

Mobile communications

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
3G
Other infrastructure developments
Mobile data
Mobile broadband

Regulatory issues

Third mobile licence
Fourth mobile licence
International gateways
Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs)
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
SIM card registration
Infrastructure sharing

Major mobile operators

Orange Egypt (Mobinil, ECMS)
Vodafone Egypt
Etisalat Misr
Telecom Egypt

Mobile content and applications

m-banking

Mobile handsets

Glossary of abbreviations
Appendix – Historic data

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Egypt – 2019 (e)
Table 2 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s fixed-line voice subscribers by sector – 2014 – 2019
Table 3 – Development of Telecom Egypt’s financial results – 2009 – 2019
Table 4 – Change in Telecom Egypt’s residential fixed voice and broadband ARPU – 2010 – 2018
Table 5 – Growth in the number of fixed lines and teledensity – 2010 – 2024
Table 6 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2009 – 2019
Table 7 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Table 8 – Growth in the number of internet users and penetration rate – 2010 – 2019
Table 9 – Growth in the number of DSL subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 10 – Growth in the number of Vodafone Egypt’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2019
Table 11 – Decline in the number of Orange Egypt’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2013 - 2019
Table 12 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s DSL subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 13 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 – 2025
Table 14 – Development in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2014 – 2019
Table 15 – Change in SMS traffic – 2009 - 2019
Table 16 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Table 17 – Change in the number of dedicated mobile (USB) broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2019
Table 18 – Decline in the number of mobile number portings – 2009 – 2017
Table 19 – Development in the number Orange Egypt’s mobile subscriber base – 2009 – 2019
Table 20 – Change in Orange Egypt’s financial results (EGP) – 2009 – 2019
Table 21 – Change in Orange Egypt’s financial results (€) – 2012 – 2019
Table 22 – Development of Vodafone Egypt’s financial data (£) – 2013 – 2019
Table 23 – Growth in Vodafone Egypt’s financial data (EGP) – 2012 – 2019
Table 24 – Growth in Vodafone Egypt’s mobile data traffic – 2013 – 2019
Table 25 – Growth in the number of Vodafone Egypt’s mobile subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 26 – Change in Vodafone Egypt’s monthly ARPU – 2012 – 2019
Table 27 – Development of Etisalat Misr’s financial data – 2011 – 2019
Table 28 – Change in Etisalat Misr’s revenue by segment – 2017 – 2019
Table 29 – Change in the number of Etisalat Misr’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 30 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s mobile subscribers – 2017 – 2019
Table 31 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity in Egypt – 1995 – 2009
Table 32 – Historic - International bandwidth in Egypt – 2003 – 2009
Table 33 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate in Egypt – 1999 – 2009
Table 34 – Historic - Dial-up internet subscribers in Egypt – 2003 – 2012
Table 35 – Historic - DSL subscribers in Egypt – 2002 – 2009
Table 36 – Historic - Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration in Egypt – 2002 – 2009
Table 37 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2000 – 2009
Table 38 – Historic - Mobile numbers ported – 2008 – 2015

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Overall Africa view - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 2 – North Africa - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 3 – Africa – Top-tier Telecoms Maturity Index (Market Leaders) – 2018
Chart 4 – North Africa –Telecoms Maturity Index by country – 2018
Chart 5 – North Africa mobile subscriber penetration versus mobile broadband penetration – 2018
Chart 6 – North Africa fixed and mobile penetration rates – 2018
Chart 7 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s fixed-line voice subscribers by sector – 2014 – 2019
Chart 8 – Development of Telecom Egypt’s financial results – 2009 – 2019
Chart 9 – Change in Telecom Egypt’s residential fixed voice and broadband ARPU – 2010 – 2018
Chart 10 – Growth in the number of fixed lines and teledensity – 2010 – 2024
Chart 11 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2009 – 2019
Chart 12 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Chart 13 – Growth in the number of internet users and penetration rate – 2010 – 2019
Chart 14 – Growth in the number of DSL subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 15 – Growth in the number of Vodafone Egypt’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2019
Chart 16 – Decline in the number of Orange Egypt’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2013 - 2019
Chart 17 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s DSL subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 18 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2009 – 2024
Chart 19 – Development in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2014 – 2019
Chart 20 – Change in SMS traffic – 2009 - 2019
Chart 21 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Chart 22 – Change in the number of dedicated mobile (USB) broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2019
Chart 23 – Decline in the number of mobile number portings – 2009 – 2017
Chart 24 – Development in the number Orange Egypt’s mobile subscriber base – 2009 – 2019
Chart 25 – Change in Orange Egypt’s financial results (EGP) – 2009 – 2019
Chart 26 – Change in Orange Egypt’s financial results (€) – 2012 – 2019
Chart 27 – Development of Vodafone Egypt’s financial data (£) – 2013 – 2019
Chart 28 – Growth in Vodafone Egypt’s financial data (EGP) – 2012 – 2019
Chart 29 – Growth in Vodafone Egypt’s mobile data traffic – 2013 – 2019
Chart 30 – Growth in the number of Vodafone Egypt’s mobile subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 31 – Change in Vodafone Egypt’s monthly ARPU – 2012 – 2019
Chart 32 – Development of Etisalat Misr’s financial data – 2011 – 2019
Chart 33 – Change in Etisalat Misr’s revenue by segment – 2017 – 2019
Chart 34 – Change in the number of Etisalat Misr’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Chart 35 – Growth in the number of Telecom Egypt’s mobile subscribers – 2017 – 2019

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 2 – North Africa - Key Characteristics of Telecoms Markets by Country
Exhibit 3 – 2Africa submarine cable
Exhibit 4 – 2Africa landing stations

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2019 Egypt - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Egypt on track to replace 95% of copper infrastructure with fibre by 2020

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Broadband market

Digital economy

Mobile communications

Glossary of abbreviations

Appendix – Historic data

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views