Egypt’s National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has signed a $3.5bn agreement with four mobile network operators to allocate an additional 410 megahertz of local frequency spectrum, marking the largest spectrum deal in the country’s telecommunications and information technology sector in three decades, according to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
According to a Reuters report, the agreement involves Telecom Egypt, Orange, Vodafone and e& Egypt, and significantly expands available spectrum capacity. For context, the combined value of spectrum bands and operating licenses issued over the past 30 years totals around $10bn. Officials say the new allocation will nearly double local spectrum utilisation, helping to improve service quality and network reliability, strengthen 5G performance and support Egypt’s broader digital transformation goals under the 2026–2030 Spectrum Strategy and the national Digital Transformation Strategy.
Egypt’s total frequency bandwidth stood at 272 MHz in 2019 before rising to 412 MHz in 2022, an increase of nearly 50%. The latest expansion is intended to accelerate infrastructure development, meet rising user demand and encourage both domestic and foreign private-sector investment, while ensuring more consistent service delivery.
The announcement comes ahead of scheduled discussions between the NTRA and the parliamentary Communications and Information Technology Committee to address questions related to internet usage and service packages.
Egypt officially launched commercial 5G mobile services in 2025, following a $2.7bn investment in spectrum and licenses made in 2019 with the same four operators. The rollout is designed to enable faster connectivity, support smart city initiatives and healthcare technologies, and facilitate the management of large networks of connected devices.
The communications ministry has outlined several targets for the 2025/2026 fiscal year, including training 800,000 individuals through digital skills programmes and expanding access to government digital services to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burdens and advance nationwide digital transformation.
The telecommunications and IT sector has grown into a significant contributor to Egypt’s economy, now accounting for more than six percent of GDP, compared with 3.2% in 2018. Digital exports have risen by 124% over that period to reach $7.4bn in 2025. Outsourcing exports have also doubled in the past three years, climbing from $2.4bn in 2022 to $4.8bn in 2025, with a government target of $9bn by 2026.
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