20 April 2020

Telecom Egypt has increased the capacities of landline internet packages by 20%, as part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology initiative to support students in the country.

The ministry said in a statement that this step coincided with the decision to suspend schools and universities for at least two weeks as part of the precautionary measures taken by the state to confront coronavirus. Earlier, the ministry launched a number of initiatives to support the distance education process, most prominently the 20% increase of the download capacities of home internet packages for individuals.

Adel Hamed, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) at Telecom Egypt, said the company was keen on the immediate implementation of increasing the internet packages offered to customers by 20%. The rationale was so that students could keep up with their lessons through the distance learning system. The initiative started March 17 and customers have been receiving text messages to inform them of the increase in the capacities of their current packages by 20% and that these additional packages will be valid for 30 days. Hamed confirmed that Telecom Egypt will provide a browsing service for the Knowledge Bank, educational platforms and sites free of charge for students, in order to support the distance education.

Telecom Egypt is the first in the sector to implement the initiative. Meanwhile, the operator announced distributing a cash dividend of E£0.25 per share, according to a statement sent to the Egyptian exchange. The company said that the dividend will be payable on April 22nd to the shareholders recorded on April 15th. On March 23rd, the ordinary general meeting (OGM) approved distributing cash dividends of E£0.25 per share for the year 2019.