19 February 2021

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called to ensure that the ‘TIBA-1’ satellite be “utilised with the utmost optimisation for governmental communications” within the administrative body and the New Administrative Capital.

Local media reported that, the leader met with minister of telecommunication Amro Talaat and the executive chief of Egyptian Space Agency Mohammed Afifi to discuss future usage of the satellite, citing the president’s spokesperson Bassam Radi.

Talaat presented developments on the unified governmental network to support fast data transmission.

The project will help promote governmental services and comes as part of the state’s strategic digitisation project.

Based on the Eurostar E3000 satellite platform, TIBA-1 was developed by French companies Airbus and Thales Alenia Space for the Egyptian government.

This communications spacecraft will weigh approximately 5,640 kg at lift-off and was designed for a service life exceeding 15 years.

The satellite aims to promote development by providing telecommunications infrastructure and broadband internet to remote and isolated areas, support development projects in these areas, as well as bridging the digital gap between urban and rural places.