A month-long disruption to internet services provided by state-run Telecom Egypt (WE) was caused by a system upgrade colliding with a malfunctioning central server, a company source told Al Manassa. The official acknowledged hundreds of customer complaints and said full service is expected to be restored within days.
The outage began after recent infrastructure updates intersected with a core server failure, affecting customers across multiple governorates. Users reported complete internet blackouts, sharply reduced speeds, and data packages being depleted well before the end of the month.
This is not the first prolonged failure for Egypt’s primary telecom operator. On July 7, a major fire at the Ramses Exchange building in downtown Cairo destroyed critical fibre-optic cables and servers, disrupting internet and phone services across large parts of the capital.
In October, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) announced planned maintenance to relocate fibre-optic cables near the Grand Egyptian Museum. While described as “limited and temporary,” residents in surrounding areas reported wider service disruptions.
Over the past 30 days, hundreds of complaints were filed, particularly from Minya, Sohag, and Menoufiya governorates. Customers cited unstable connections and unexplained depletion of monthly data allowances.
“Some users filed complaints with the NTRA and the Consumer Protection Agency earlier this month,” the source said. “Both regulators requested updates, and the company submitted reports on ongoing repairs and system upgrades.”
Telecom Egypt has faced regulatory action before. In 2024, the NTRA fined the operator EGP 20 million following a nationwide outage caused by infrastructure failure and ordered customer compensation after an emergency review confirmed widespread voice and internet disruptions.
