National Broadband Plan

The overall pattern generally indicates a much higher level of inability to use a PC inrural areas than in urban areas and overall a much higher level of inability to use (orlack of interest in) computers than literacy per se.The implication is that incorporating computer use in general and the Internet use inparticular into the educational curriculum will help boost broadband uptake acrossthe country. The data below (Figure 3.6) show that there is a long way to go in termsof increasing Internet access in Egypt. The data, provided by CAPMAS, shows that in2009 only 53% of public schools had any Internet access at all, with only 13% havingbroadband access. The figures for private schools are even worse. (Refer also tosection 3.10 on E-Education below)3.8. Local ContentFigure 3.6 - Computer Literacy in SchoolsIn the area of local content development, Egypt faces similar challenges as manyother developing countries. Developing applications that address the social,cultural and linguistic needs of Egyptian citizens is a necessity. Key bottlenecksinclude:Arabic digital content at less than 0.3% of the overall Internet content.Lack of trust in on-line services and payment systems.Low levels of ICT penetration along with limited availability of e-banking andrelated services limit the diffusion of e-commerce and of relevant content forconsumers.Lack of general awareness in spite of the fact that some organizations in thepublic and private sector are conscious of the need for developing e-content.Lack of necessary skills in the workforce to adapt content into electronic formand media convergence.eMisr National Broadband Plan Gap Analysis 40