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29 June 2021

Egypt Moves Up 54 Spots Ranking 41st in ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker 2020

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has issued its annual ICT Regulatory Tracker that assesses the performance of telecommunication regulators around the world in 2020. The Tracker was released during the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2021.

The ranking of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) in the Tracker advanced 54 spots, ranking 41st out of 193 countries, compared to 95th in 2019. NTRA also ranked second in Africa, compared to 19th in 2019, scoring an overall of 88.5/100 points, instead of 74.5 in 2019.

In assessing regulators, the Tracker is based on four main pillars; the first is the Regulatory Authority, which shows the regulator’s ability to make regulatory and reformative decisions in the market, and how impartial those decisions are. The second is the Regulatory Mandate, which reflects the regulator’s ability to regulate the services in the market, and the impact of the issued regulations on the development of work. The third pillar, namely the Regulatory Regime, measures the regulator’s organizational diversity and its participatory relationship with other government institutions. As for the fourth pillar, the Competition Framework, it shows how capable the regulator is of creating an enabling environment for competition, and new areas for investment.

The significant milestone that NTRA achieved came as a result of its efforts, initiatives and regulations issued in 2020, which had a significant impact in improving Egypt’s global ranking. Those efforts included designating new frequency bands of Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode, for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), unprecedently, with the aim to improve the quality of telecommunication services; rendering export and licensing services electronically; and launching the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service that enables users to retain their mobile phone numbers when switching from one MNO to another in a maximum of 24 hours.

This is in addition to creating a toll-free short code (*155#) to help users inquire about or cancel subscription to Value-Added Services (VASs); launching initiatives to promote the use of electronic payment methods, as well as other initiatives to protect users’ rights; and allowing public consultation in introducing new regulatory frameworks to leverage the expertise of the companies and agencies operating in the Egyptian telecommunication market.

NTRA advanced ranking will help augment Egypt’s leading position at the international and regional levels, in telecommunications regulation, which will pave the way for more investment opportunities and help create an environment conducive to investment and competition, in addition to accelerating the digital transformation.

To explore ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker, kindly click here.

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