(DNE File Photo)
By Mohamed Alaa Eldin
Vodafone has allocated investments of EGP 9.5bn to improve its infrastructure and networks over the coming three years, according to External Affairs head at Vodafone, Khalid Al-Hegazy.
He added in a statement to Daily News Egypt that the company’s investments increased by approximately 40% over the past few years. The improvements run in compliance with the company’s strategy to provide the best possible customer service.
Al-Hegazy commented on lower-quality service this year, attributing the phenomenon to reasons beyond the company’s control, including constant electricity cuts which could not be overcome through generators. Another reason included Vodafone building its network on Telecom Egypt infrastructure, which led services to be negatively affected at times.
The Egyptian telecoms market witnessed a decline in mobile services among the three mobile providers – Vodafone, Mobinil, and Etisalat – according to a report on service quality issued by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Companies hope to remedy this over the coming year.
Al-Hegazy believes the major challenges facing the telecom sector during 2015 are summarised by stability, which will positively influence the business sector and the dollar exchange rate. This will, in turn, affect the telecoms sector.
Globally, Vodafone recorded more than £19bn (EGP 205bn) to update its network in the markets in which the company operates, including more than 22 markets in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The most prominent markets in which Vodafone operates include England, the US, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Italy, India, Egypt, Qatar, South Africa, and Ghana.
