Background

The ArabDev project addresses the gap in grassroots participation in the information revolution in Egypt and other Arab countries. ArabDevs objectives are to spread information and communication technology (ICT) skills among poor communities in Egypt to provide women and youth with better livelihood opportunities through improved access to information. This is done through building the capacities of local NGOs/CBOs that are forming the backbone of the ArabDev initiative and are the outreach point to their served communities throughout Egypt and in later phases the Arab region.

Egyptian Telecommunication Infrastructure: An Overview

Egypt introduced its first Internet use in 1993 through a link by the Egyptian University Network and France. In 1993, Egypt had 2,000 Internet users - mainly from the academic community today we have more than 300,000 users. The Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Egyptian Cabinet and the Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center (RITSEC) collaborated to enlarge the Internet user base in the country. From one local Internet Service Provider (ISP) in 1993 to 12 in 1996, Egypt now has 60 ISPs, most of which are from the private sector. This exponential growth in Internet users and ISPs show the tremendous demand and need for Internet use in Egypt. This growth in ISPs was also the outcome of creating points of Internet presence (POPs) outside of Cairo. This permitted users in secondary cities to connect to the Internet at local call rates. As for the future, USAID estimated the potential Internet users in Egypt by the year 2003 as 1 million users.

Increase of Internet users In Egypt (1993 - 2000)

Source: IDSC. Description of Egypt through Information. 4th Ed., September 1999; UNDP. Human Development Report 2001 and NUA.

This exponential increase in Internet users in Egypt reflects a worldwide trend. During 1991-1994, only 15 million Internet connections were made globally, this number expanded to 88 million in 1995-1998, nearly a six-fold increase in network growth. As it took the telephone nearly 75 years to reach 50 million users on a global level, it took the World Wide Web (WWW) only 4 years to reach the same number.

Degree of Internet Penetration of Different Communication Media (by million users)

Source: ITU Challenges to the Network 1999: Internet for Development.

To introduce and spread Internet use, the Egyptian government provided free connectivity to the academic domain, the government and the public sector. This awareness-raising tactic proved effective: by 1995, Internet users in Egypt had reached 10,000.

Teledensity in Egypt (per 100 persons)

Source: IDSC. Description of Egypt through Information. 4th Ed., September 1999 and UNDP. Human Development Report 1998.

Teledensity has gradually increased in Egypt from 6.4 lines per 100 persons in 1995 to 9 lines per 100 persons in 1998. With the improvement of the telecom infrastructure and the available alternatives in satellite connections and mobile phones the number of connected persons is on the rise.

In Egypt the highest diffusion of traditional ICT tools is the radio, followed by the TV and the telephone. This means that with the introduction of the Internet as an added source of information and knowledge we can enhance its outreach by collaborating with national and local radio and TV stations. This step is being planned for Phase II and III of the project.

Access to Information & Communication in Egypt 1995 (per 1,000 people)

Source: UNDP, Human Development Report 1998.

Teledensity in Egypt is highest in main metropolitan areas, i.e. Greater Cairo and Alexandria. New settlements and rebuild cities like the cities on the Suez Canal have a higher teledensity than other more established urban and rural centers. This shows that teledensity in Egypt is mainly a matter of where government funding went latest, in the case of the rebuild cities and the new settlements (e.g., South Sinai, Red Sea, New Valley, etc.) and capital cities like Cairo and Alexandria.

Teledensity per Governorate in 1998 (line/per 100 persons)

Source: IDSC. Description of Egypt through Information. 4th Ed., September 1999.

The divergent developmental levels and subsequently developmental needs of some of the projects targeted governorates in Egypt are shown here:

A Socio-demographic Snapshot of Menia Governorate

Upper Egypt is a poorer section of the country. The government has recently increased its attention and funding to Upper Egypt. Yet, the area still has the highest percentage of poverty in Egypt. The ArabDev project is therefore interested to include as many NGOs/CBOs that meet the selection criteria from Upper Egypt in Phase I as possible.

The government's developmental efforts have brought fruits to date as the percentage of official unemployment has decreased, a good example here is Menia governorate where unemployment was stable at 8.8 percent during 1996 and 1997, and declined to 7.7 percent in 1998.