{"id":666484,"date":"2025-06-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/hardhats\/egypt-leads-africa-for-top-internet-speed-but-trails-behind-the-gulf\/"},"modified":"2025-06-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T00:00:00","slug":"egypt-leads-africa-for-top-internet-speed-but-trails-behind-the-gulf","status":"publish","type":"hardhat","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/hardhats\/egypt-leads-africa-for-top-internet-speed-but-trails-behind-the-gulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt leads Africa for top internet speed, but trails behind the Gulf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egypt has nabbe<\/strong>d t<\/strong>he award fo<\/strong>r Africa\u2019s fastest fixed internet <\/strong> \u2014 landing a 66.2 speed score, according to Ookla\u2019s Africa Fastest Fixed Country report (pdf)<\/a> for the second half of 2024. Over the past seven years, internet speeds have increased nearly 1400%, growing from 5.4 MB\/s in 2017 to 80.3 MB\/s as of January 2025 \u2014 backed in no small part by nearly USD 3.5 bn in digital infrastructure investment, according to a statement<\/a> from the CIT Ministry. <\/p>\n

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links <\/strong>to our background as well as external sources.)<\/p>\n

And within Egypt, Cairo ranked as the governorate with the fastest internet<\/strong>, followed by <\/p>\n

Giza and Gharbia.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s internet isn\u2019t only fast for the continent \u2014 it's cheap too. <\/strong>Egypt lays claim to having Africa\u2019s second cheapest internet service and the fifth lowest in the world too, CIT Minister Amr Talaat said.<\/p>\n

Pushing efforts forward was \u201cgrowing demand for bandwidth-intensive applications<\/strong> such as video streaming, remote work, and cloud services,\u201d a company representative from the state-owned Telecom Egypt told EnterpriseAM Egypt. As the way we live undertook a dramatic change, in response came \u201cstrategic investments, infrastructure modernization, and a supportive regulatory environment\u201d to develop the country\u2019s internet services.<\/p>\n

But fast internet isn't just important for Netflix, it's an increasingly important part of any <\/strong>modern economy. <\/strong>With plenty of countries to choose from, investors often see internet speed and reliability as a key deciding factor, a representative from private telecoms operator Vodafone Egypt told EnterpriseAM, who explained that \u201cIt boosts productivity, reduces operational costs, and enables smarter, data-driven decisions.\u201d Better internet \u201cstrengthens Egypt\u2019s national competitiveness, reinforces its position as a regional technology hub, and enhances the country\u2019s appeal to both businesses and investors,\u201d Telecom Egypt told us separately. Alongside this, better digital access and literacy creates a \u201cmore skilled and digitally fluent workforce ultimately driving innovation, productivity, and sustainable economic growth,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor businesses to scale, innovate, and compete globally, high-speed internet has<\/strong> become a fundamental necessity, not a luxury<\/strong>,\u201d the state telecom operator told us. Our improved internet services are a big reason why there\u2019s been a 180% jump in the number of outsourcing companies \u2014 an increasingly prominent source of FX \u2014 operating in Egypt since 2021 and an 80% rise in exports of outsourcing services over the past three years, CIT Minister Amr Talaat said at last week\u2019s US-Egypt Policy Leaders Forum.<\/p>\n

So what has Egypt been doing right? <\/strong>On the technical side, the country moved from ADSL to VDSL and towards the adoption of fiber networks, with fiber-to-the-cabinet connections increasing from 85% coverage in 2019 to complete coverage now, Telecom Egypt told us. This is also in addition to upgrades to its international, core, transmission, and backbone networks, and the deployment of fiber-to-the-home technology, which together with everything else increased the baseline internet speed offered by service providers from 5 Mbps to 30 Mbps.<\/p>\n

Government policy was also important in bringing faster internet to less privileged and<\/strong> more rural areas<\/strong>, with the country\u2019s Digital Egypt and Decent Life initiatives helping prioritize infrastructure development in these areas.<\/p>\n

The private sector has also played a vital role in the push for better internet services<\/strong>, often in partnership with the public sector. Vodafone Egypt pointed to \u201crobust collaboration between the public and private sectors, underpinned by strategic investments, infrastructure sharing, and technological innovation\u201d as a driver of improved internet speeds, in comments to EnterpriseAM. <\/p>\n

Investment from the private sector has been sizable and impactful. <\/strong>Take Vodafone Egypt\u2019s capital expenditure between 2017 and January 2025, which will total around USD 3.0 bn, helping to push the country\u2019s overall internet speeds to the highest on the continent, the company told us. This includes network infrastructure upgrades, spectrum acquisitions, its acquisition of a 5G license, and also tapping in foreign tech leaders like China\u2019s Huawei, who have deployed advanced tech to keep our internet competitive. <\/p>\n

Private sector players are also fully behind the introduction of 5G<\/strong> \u2014 touted as the next big thing for internet speeds that will enable Web 3.0. All of the country\u2019s four telecoms operators have secured 5G licenses for USD 150 mn a pop, with rollout expected to come very soon, with Vodafone Egypt CEO Mohamed Abdallah telling Cairo Weekend\u2019s Zeina Soufan last month that it will launch the service in the next \u201ccoming weeks.\u201d (watch, runtime: 14:51)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But despite Egypt leading in Africa, we\u2019re still a long way away from our neighbors in <\/strong>the Gulf<\/strong>, with UAE ranked as having the world\u2019s second fastest fixed internet, according to Ookla\u2019s latest Speedtest Global Index<\/a> for April. In contrast to the UAE\u2019s 318.6 Mbps average download speed, Egypt is placed in 71st place globally with an average download speed of 85.6 Mbps \u2014 putting it a notch behind the global average of 101.4 Mbps.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar story when it comes to mobile internet speeds<\/strong>, with Qatar in first place globally, followed by the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain as the world\u2019s top four in Ookla\u2019s April ranking. Egypt places 86th on the list with an average download speed of 39.9 Mbps, behind the global average of 92.3 Mbps and miles from Qatar\u2019s astonishingly quick 521.5 Mbps.<\/p>\n

Although, comparing vast countries like Egypt with tiny nation states in the Gulf is an<\/strong> unfair comparison. <\/strong>When it comes to the internet, most Gulf states with \u201ccompact, highly urbanized geographies and the availability of greater financial resources derived from higher national income,\u201d the official at Telecom Egypt told us. This meant that these countries could quickly and cost-effectively lay down the needed fiber-optic infrastructure to enable the world-leading internet speeds it can boast about.<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s geography in comparison presents a much more difficult and costly<\/strong> infrastructure challenge<\/strong>, with its dispersed population \u2014 many of which in very out of the way areas \u2014 and very different types of terrain.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, we\u2019re going to need to increase speeds even further \u2014 and that<\/strong> presents some big challenges. <\/strong>Next-generation internet technologies require a lot of money, especially if we want to develop the country\u2019s internet infrastructure in an equitable way. But \u201cprevailing economic constraints and the affordability gap for lower-income users\u201d presents a problem with no easy fix, Telecom Egypt told us.<\/p>\n

Although many remote areas in difficult terrain have seen improvements, there\u2019s still a<\/strong> long way to go to expand and improve coverage.<\/strong> But it is these areas that are most costly and time-consuming, while also covering much smaller populations than in urbanized areas \u2014 which should be met with \u201cinnovative, scalable solutions,\u201d Telecom Egypt told us. <\/p>\n

But if Egypt is going to keep up the momentum, it\u2019s going to need even more <\/strong>investment. <\/strong>The representative at Telecom Egypt suggested \u201celevating digital transformation to a national priority supported by dedicated funding frameworks and comprehensive long-term strategies for broadband development\u201d to carry on the right track. Another part of the funding puzzle can be found in public-private partnerships, which \u201ccan play a vital role in easing the financial burden while enabling broad, cost-effective network expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next two years, the government is aiming to attract USD 3 bn in network <\/strong>investments<\/strong>, a senior government source told EnterpriseAM. This will go towards network modernization and maintenance, its medium-term strategy, and to completing its targets under the Decent Life initiative, we were told.<\/p>\n

But even though it can be expensive, \u201cinvesting in internet infrastructure pays off in the <\/strong>long run<\/strong>,\u201d Vodafone Egypt told us. The private sector operator explained that high-speed internet access improves productivity \u2014 and with it, growth \u2014 makes possible new types of businesses, and helps expand access to essential services like education and healthcare.<\/p>\n

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