The "Internet Revolution" group has rejected the attempts by Communications Minister Khaled Negm to convince them about the validity of the new Internet prices announced last Thursday.
Sources said Negm had sent the group members a study prepared for TE Data by the investment bank Pharos, aimed at reducing infrastructural costs, a study that CI Capital and EFG Hermes had declined to prepare.
The pricing committee of TE Data rejected the price reduction, considering it to be an act of squandering of public funds.
In a statement on Facebook, the group said Internet packages are limited and more expensive than in other countries, accusing the officials of not considering the interests of the users.
The statement also said that only 78 percent of the speed contracted for is usually attained, quoting the minister as saying he would push it to 90 percent, which means he recognizes that the service is incomplete.
A senior source at the Ministry of Communications said TE Data did not receive an official approval to launch the new package, adding that the package that has stirred criticism on social networking sites is different from the original one submitted by TE Data.
However, the Minister of Communications and the acting president of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a press conference last Thursday that TE Data had not received a written approval.
Hisham al-Alaily, the former president of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said the package, which was the last decision he took before leaving his position last Thursday, was meant to be an offer valid for one month only and not an overall pricing plan.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
