A Facebook-sponsored service offering limited free internet access to Etisalat customers in Egypt was suspended after a temporary permit expired, according to an official at Egypt’s Ministry of Telecommunications. The official told Reuters that the suspension of Facebook’s Free Basics service had no connection to national security concerns.
Free Basics, launched in Egypt two months earlier by Etisalat, provides free access to Facebook and a selection of partner websites in developing markets. The ministry official, who requested anonymity, said Etisalat had only been granted approval to operate the service for a two-month period, and once the permit expired, the service was halted.
Etisalat said it would issue a statement following the suspension. Facebook, meanwhile, expressed disappointment, telling the Associated Press that more than one million Egyptians who had previously been unconnected were able to access the internet through the initiative.
Etisalat Misr, which began operations in Egypt in 2007, is the smallest of the country’s three private mobile operators by market share. In 2015, Egypt had around 93 million registered mobile lines, with Vodafone holding 38 million subscriptions, Mobinil 33 million, and Etisalat approximately 22 million. Etisalat Misr is 66 percent owned by the UAE-based Etisalat Group.
Social media platforms, including Facebook, are widely used in Egypt and played a prominent role during the 2011 uprising that led to the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.
