The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the police, and Telecom Egypt have located and apprehended a company in Heliopolis for possessing illegal communication devices that can receive international calls illegally. The company provides communication services without the mandatory prior consent of the NTRA.
According to an NTRA press release, the company contracted with international call smugglers outside Egypt to make calls via the internet, away from the international gates licensed to companies by the NTRA, which causes the state hundreds of millions of pounds in losses per year, in addition to a possible impact on national security.
Security forces raided the company’s headquarters in Heliopolis in cooperation with a committee of NTRA representatives. They found proof of the allegations and many SIM cards bearing the logos of Egypt’s three major mobile operators. The SIM cards and the devices were used to provide illegal international phone calls. The owner of the company was arrested pending referral to the prosecution.
Mustafa Abdel Wahid, the acting executive president of the NTRA, said that these actions violate the provisions of Article 21 of the Communications Law 10/2003, which stipulates operating communication services, international or otherwise, to obtain a permit from the NTRA. The offender will be prosecuted and sentenced according to Article 72 of the same law.
