By Ahram Online
Egypt has climbed six places in global rankings for fixed broadband internet speeds, sitting at 77th place, with a speed of 64.53 megabytes per second as of November compared to a month prior, according to the Speedtest Global Index for internet performance metrics.
When compared to other Arab countries, Egypt secured the eighth position in fixed internet speed and the first-place position on the African continent in November 2023.
Among Arab countries, the UAE attained the top spot in fixed internet speed and the sixth place globally in November, boasting a speed of 239.4 megabytes per second.
Kuwait secured the second position in the Arab world and the 25th spot globally, with a speed of 148.47 megabytes, while Qatar followed closely, ranking third in the Arab world and 32nd globally, with a speed of 124.59 megabytes.
In October, Egypt had already claimed the top spot in fixed internet speed among African countries, ranking 83rd globally with a speed of 61.22 megabytes.
These advancements in internet speed are a result of Egypt’s substantial investments in its digital infrastructure.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, confirmed in October that the country has allocated over US$600 million towards the development of its submarine internet cable network.
With 13 operational submarine cables, Egypt has an additional five under construction, to further boost broadband capabilities, Talaat added.
The minister also highlighted that Egypt has invested US$2 billion in the enhancement of its high-speed landline internet infrastructure.
This commitment has yielded results, with internet speeds increasing nine-fold over the past five years.
Currently, Egypt’s fixed internet user base has some 70 million users.
To enhance internet flexibility and speed in Egypt and Africa, Telecom Egypt, the country’s main internet operator, recently signed an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to install and operate a Managed Root Server (IMRS) in the Egyptian company’s Regional Data Hub. https://english.ahram.org.
