By Mohamed Alaa El-Din
The price of Internet services per subscription in Egypt increased over the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, amounting to $10.1. This compared to $6.4 over the same period the previous year, according to a report by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
On the other hand, the price of mobile phone services decreased during the same period, amounting to $2.8 instead of $3.
As per the ministry’s report for Q1 of 2015, the usage costs for landline phone services decreased, recording $2.3, compared to $3.4 over the same period last year.
The cost of Internet usage is calculated in accordance with the monthly subscription of the lowest speed of ADSL Internet, a minimum of 256 KB which is equivalent to the usage of 1 GB.
Regarding the calculation of average mobile phone usage costs, it depended on pre-paid amounts for 30 calls and 100 text messages every month in every mobile network during peak and non-peaks time and over weekends. In terms of landline usage costs, it is calculated according to one-fifth of the installation expenses, monthly subscription, 15 local calls during peak hours and another 15 calls during non-peak hours.
Meanwhile, as regards to the health sector’s information technology infrastructure , the report revealed that 50.1% of hospitals have Internet access. Hospitals that use computers represented 84.6%, while hospitals that have mobile phones represented 53.6%.
Regarding Internet usage in hospitals, the report stated that: 34.3% of hospitals use Internet only to send and receive e-mails; 31.2% of hospitals use Internet to get information about medical devices; 27.8% use Internet to exchange medical consultations with doctors; 25.2% use Internet to exchange information; researches and medical reports; while 10.2% use it to publish scientific researches.
