Mobile phone users in Egypt experienced enhanced voice, internet, and data transmission services in the final quarter of 2024, as revealed by an official assessment from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA).
The NTRA, which is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), evaluated 139,000 kilometers of cities and villages, using advanced equipment to assess voice calls and data services. This evaluation included Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology, which has improved the quality of voice calls.
According to the MCIT, Egypt’s active mobile subscriptions rose to 84.2 million by December 2024, up from 83.8 million in December 2023. The NTRA’s report highlighted substantial improvements in service quality across 114 areas, based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Operator Performance Overview
- Vodafone reported significant improvements, with the number of areas experiencing poor voice service dropping from six to two. Areas with poor data transmission decreased from six to four, and its average download speed increased from 50 Mbps to 52 Mbps between October and December 2024.
- Orange saw a rise in areas with poor voice service, which increased from four in October to eight in December. Despite this, its data transmission quality remained stable, and its average download speed grew slightly from 46 Mbps to 48 Mbps.
- E& experienced notable improvements in both voice and data quality, with poor voice service areas decreasing from 11 to seven and poor data transmission areas dropping from four to three. The company’s average download speed increased from 55 Mbps to 57 Mbps.
- WE maintained stable data transmission quality, with only one area reporting poor performance in both October and December 2024. However, its average download speed decreased from 88 Mbps to 83 Mbps. On the voice service side, poor-quality areas decreased from five to two.
Fastest Fixed Internet in Africa
In a major achievement, Egypt was awarded the 2024 Speedtest Award for the fastest fixed internet in Africa, according to Ookla, a global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights. As part of the country’s digital infrastructure expansion, Egypt is replacing copper cables with fiber optic networks, aiming to provide high-speed internet to 60 million citizens across 4,500 villages.
This initiative is a cornerstone of Egypt’s Digital Egypt Strategy, which aims to strengthen connectivity and foster a robust digital economy. Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat emphasized Egypt’s $3.5 billion investment in digital infrastructure, which has helped increase the nation’s average fixed broadband speed from 5.4 Mbps in December 2017 to 80.3 Mbps in January 2025.
