An activist group advocating for reduced internet prices and improved quality intends to bring a case against the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority and the Consumer Protection Agency.
Internet Revolution, a group founded in late 2013, said security authorities have denied them a license to stage a protest outside the Cabinet building. The group was planning to denounce a rumored blocking of voice call applications and demand lower internet rates.
The group’s general coordinator, Islam Khaled, said they decided to postpone the planned demonstration until after parliamentary elections end on December 2. The demonstration will be rescheduled to coincide with parliament’s first session.
Khaled said the group’s Facebook page has requested that their followers, now more than 1.2 million, authorize them to take the legal action.
At the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, Minister Yasser al-Qady declined to respond to the campaign’s announcement. “We are working on important issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible,” the minister told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “The (communication) sector is full of files that need study and improvement,” he said
Ongoing pressures by the campaign prompted TE Data, the government-run internet provider and the primary controller of the internet's infrastructure, to announce new pricing packages. Mobile phone operators followed suit. However, the new packages did not appeal to the internet activists, who insisted the rates were still high compared to other countries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
