This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 CAIRO 000324 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/CIP/MA 
COMMERCE FOR NTIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS EG
SUBJECT: GOE RESPONDS TO SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT DEMARCHE 
 
REF: 05 SECSTATE 225777 
 
Econoff presented reftel questions to GOE telecoms officials 
on December 19, 2005.  The GOE's National Telecom Regulatory 
Authority (NTRA) on January 15 submitted to Embassy Cairo its 
answers to reftel questionnaire on spectrum management 
practices in Egypt, as follows.  Monetary values listed are 
all Egyptian pounds (LE); as of January 22, the exchange rate 
was USD 1 = LE 5.7. 
 
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¶1.  Responsible Authority: Which organizations are involved 
in spectrum management in your country?  To whom are they 
responsible - executive branch, legislative branch, military 
- or are they autonomous? 
 
  NTRA, which operates based on the telecommunications law 
(Law No. 10 of 2003) through a board headed by the Minister 
of Communications and Information Technology, is the 
responsible authority. 
 
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¶2.  Assignment Process:  Please describe the mechanism(s) 
your country uses to assign spectrum (for example, auctions, 
lotteries, comparative hearings).  To what services and/or 
bands are such mechanisms applied? 
 
  A.) For private use (factories, companies, hotels, etc.), 
the assignment process utilizes a first come, first served 
strategy. 
 
  B.) For large public services/projects, such as public 
mobile operators, the assignment process utilizes an auction 
and "beauty contest" (tender) strategy, and when two 
operators are equal in every category (financially and 
technically), a lottery strategy is applied. 
 
  The aforementioned mechanisms apply to all services and 
bands.  Item A is applicable for local area communications 
(small coverage area).  Item B is applicable for metropolitan 
area communications (wide coverage area) with 
service-providing systems. 
 
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¶3.  Licensing Regime:  Please describe your spectrum 
licensing regime.  Are licenses awarded for the provision of 
a specific service, or a specified technology or standard? 
Are licenses subject to renewal? 
 
  Egypt uses a licensing regime.  The procedure for getting a 
license is as follows: 
 
  A.) Application is made for a license by filling out the 
appropriate forms for the type of license sought: 
 
  - mobile service equipment license. 
  - fixed service equipment license. 
  - maritime service equipment license. 
  - aeronautical service equipment license. 
  - satellite service equipment license. 
  - amateur service equipment license. 
 
  B.) The frequency committee then investigates the 
application. 
  C.) License fees are paid. 
  D.) The license is issued. 
 
  Licenses are awarded for specific services and 
technologies, except for unlicensed services such as Wi-Fi, 
etc.  They are subject to renewal every year. 
 
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¶4.  Licensee Privileges:  What flexibility do licensees have 
(e.g., secondary markets) to transfer their spectrum rights 
to other parties?  May licensees aggregate licenses or 
subdivide them?  May licensees make all or part of their 
spectrum available to other entities based on geography or 
time?  May licensees accept payment in exchange for spectrum 
access? 
 
  There are no secondary markets at present.  Licensees may 
not aggregate or subdivide licenses, make all or part of 
their spectrum available to other entities, or accept payment 
in exchange for access. 
 
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¶5.  Spectrum Fees:  What types of fees are imposed on 
spectrum users?  How are fees calculated?  Which, if any, 
spectrum users are exempt from fees? 
 
  The current system consists of two types of fees, equipment 
fees billing (EFB) and spectrum fees billing (SFB).  The 
calculation of these fees differs according to the service 
type and the frequency band as follows: 
 
Case 1: HF Band: 
---------------- 
 
  EFB per single device =250 50*NOC 
  SFB per channel per site =27.825*CD 
 
Frequencies below 3 MHz are considered as Night Usage 
Frequencies (NUF), while frequencies above or equal to 5 MHz 
are considered Day Usage Frequencies (DUF).  Any of the 
following options is considered as a single HF channel for 
which the above mentioned SFB is calculated: 
 
  Single NUF. 
  Single DUF. 
  Pair of a single DUF plus a single NUF. 
 
NOC:  No. Of Channels (as described) 
CD:   Coverage Distance 
= 1200 KM  for licensing an HF channel all over Egyptian 
territory. 
= 3000 KM  for communication with any destination outside 
Egyptian territory. 
 
Case 2: VHF Band: 
----------------- 
 
  EFB per single device =A 50*NOC 
  SFB per single frequency per site =27.825*CD 
 
NOC:  No. Of Channels (either duplex or simplex) 
A=    150 for devices operating under 5 Watts 
A=    250 otherwise 
CD:   Coverage Distance 
=20 KM  for handheld equipment without base station (Max 
power 5 W) 
=40 KM  for base stations or portable equipment mounted on car 
 
Case 3: UHF Band: 
----------------- 
 
  EFB per single device =250 50*NOC 
  SFB per single frequency per site =27.825*CD 
 
NOC:  No. Of Channels (either duplex or simplex) 
CD:   Coverage Distance 
=20 KM  for handheld equipment without base station 
=40 KM  for base stations or equipment on car 
 
Case 4: Microwave Links: 
------------------------ 
 
  EFB per single device =250 50*NOC 
  SFB per single link =27.825*CD*NOC 
 
NOC:  No. Of Channels (based on the bandwidth) 
 
For Data and Voice  NOC =15*BW in MHz 
                    (If NOC is not specified in equipment 
specs) 
 
For Video Transmission  NOC =120*No. of Video channels 
                        (If BW is not specified in equipment 
specs) 
 
NOC =15*BW in MHz (otherwise) 
 
  In all previous cases, the following rules apply: 
 
  For Point-To-Multipoint PTP (using the same frequencies), 
SFB is calculated only once.  In the case of MW links, CD is 
taken as the length of the longest link.  For all other cases 
CD is taken as the distance between the two most distant 
sites. 
 
  IF (real value of CD)