The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has approved a new adjustment to telecommunications prices, allowing companies to increase home and mobile internet package rates by between 9 and 15%.
In a statement released on Wednesday, May 6, the NTRA attributed the hike to economic and operational variables that directly impacted the cost of providing such services. These include the rise of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound, as well as higher prices for electricity and fuel—particularly the diesel used to power mobile towers.
Alongside the price increase, the NTRA instructed telecom companies to provide new, low-cost packages to support digital inclusion for lower-income customers. These include a home internet package priced at 150 Egyptian pounds (about $2.85) and a mobile package at 5 pounds (about $0.10). Additionally, all government and educational websites will remain accessible for free on both home and mobile networks even after a user’s data package is exhausted.
The decision also stipulated that prices for landline and mobile voice minutes, pay-as-you-go SIM cards, and electronic wallets will remain unchanged. This freeze, according to a source familiar with the NTRA’s pricing file, has drawn dissatisfaction from telecom companies. The source noted that pay-as-you-go services are the most profitable for companies compared to internet packages requiring higher operating costs.
The source, who requested anonymity, told Al Manassa that price hikes for mobile and home internet will vary by package, with the steepest increases hitting high-consumption plans.
NTRA sought to offset rising fuel and currency costs for providers while shielding consumers, whose basic expenses are already high, from the full brunt of inflation, the source said. To achieve this, the regulator mandated new low-cost options and restricted the hikes to specific packages.
“Given that the cost of providing the service has risen significantly, by at least 25%, it was inevitable that consumer prices would rise,” the source explained. “Keeping the prices frozen would have weakened the quality of services and reduced companies’ investments in improvements and expansion across all governorates and into remote areas.”
The decision sparked a wave of angry comments from users on the announcement post on the Cabinet’s official Facebook page, some calling for a boycott of mobile companies.
“If prices are increasing… Will internet quality and speed increase accordingly?” one user wrote, questioning the value of the hike. The comment reflects ongoing user frustration over poor network coverage and slow internet speeds.
The last increase in telecommunications service prices occurred in January 2025 following a November 2024 announcement by NTRA Executive Director Mohamed Shamroukh that the regulator had given preliminary approval for price hikes. That move led Mohamed Hedaya, vice president of the mobile and communications division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, to criticize the companies' demands for increases at a time when citizens in many areas faced weak network signals.
