(Ecofin Agency) - The Egyptian government signed last week, through the National Company for Telecommunications Services (NCTS), a service agreement with the high-speed satellite internet service provider Hughes Network Systems. The deal will give NCTS access to various solutions, including two Hughes Jupiter System gateways, a network management system, to provide connectivity in rural areas via the Tiba-1 satellite.

NCTS Board chairman Abdelhamid Mostafa said the deployment of the TIBA-1 satellite is “a significant milestone” in the country’s mission to provide reliable and affordable broadband connectivity to remote and rural areas. "We will optimize the performance of our TIBA-1 satellite with the superior ground system, both technically and commercially, for the job. The Hughes Jupiter System provides efficiency, reliability, flexibility, and high performance to ensure the best service delivery," he explained.

Connecting rural populations via satellite is part of the “telecom” component of the government’s “Decent Life” project launched in 2019. In the first phase, 1,300 villages will be connected to the country’s optical fiber network. This operation will be conducted by the incumbent operator Telecom Egypt under the leadership of the ICT Ministry. It aligns with the government’s ambition to offer every Egyptian a chance to take part in the fourth industrial revolution.

Let's note that more than half of the Egyptian population lives in rural areas, according to the Digital Report 2021 published by Hootsuite and We Are Social.

Muriel Edjo