Calls to revoke decision to increase phone and internet prices

A member of the Egyptian Parliament, Abdel Salam Khadraoui, submitted a parliamentary inquiry addressed to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, demanding a reversal of the decision to increase phone call and internet rates, the RT Arabic website reported.

Khadraoui called on the government to intervene quickly to stop any new increases in mobile and internet service prices, asking, “Why was this particular time chosen to increase the prices of phone call services?”

He pointed to the “significant increase in the cost of living for citizens, amid rising inflation rates.”

In his request, the representative also referred to the “Poor services of all mobile companies, whether in phone calls or internet services,” arguing that, “it is better for the government to intervene and force mobile companies to improve services that have become very poor, especially in remote and rural areas.”

Khadraoui called on the Minister of Communications and Information Technology not to respond at all to the demands of mobile companies to increase the prices of mobile and internet services, especially at this time, noting that “all mobile companies are making very large profits.”

Earlier, the CEO of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Mohamed Shamroukh, said that the government had given initial approval to telecommunications companies operating in the local market to study increasing the prices of the services provided.

Meanwhile, the head of the telecommunications and mobile division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Mohamed Talat, said that the percentage increase in the prices of mobile phone recharge cards is 15 percent for the four companies.

Talat confirmed that the increase will include all telecommunications services, including the internet, attributing this to the increase in operating costs, especially the prices of petroleum products.