During a phone-in on Sunday with the Sada al-Balad TV channel, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Amr Talaat said that internet bundle download quotas have increased by 20 percent for free this month for all subscribers with the four companies operating in Egypt.

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority will pay for the cost of this increase, he said, which is LE200 million.

This increase aims to encourage people to stay at home longer, he explained.

Talaat on Sunday also met with leaders of telecom companies and leaders of information technology companies.

During the two meetings, several initiatives were agreed upon in support of the governmental decision to suspend schools and universities as an anti-coronavirus measure, with initiatives to support continued education during this period.

Talaat said that the websites for the ministries of education and higher education are now freely accessible and will not be counted towards home internet package consumption.

Educational content will be uploaded onto the sites, he explained, as platforms will be provided through which the ministries will host content that students can watch interactively with a teacher.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm