By : Wael Elgafry

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) released the internet usage index within 24 hours in Ramdan in 2024, compared to Ramadan in 2023.

Mobile internet services were increasingly used by 74%, in line with the rise of mobile internet users reaching 9 million. Meanwhile, services of fixed internet recorded an increase by 29 % in conjunction with the rising number of new fixed internet users reaching 800 thousand users.

Usage of online services within a single day in Ramadan in 2024 differed to Ramadan of 2023 as follow:

1. Short entertainment videos: These are short entertaining music audios/ videos uploaded and shared by users via apps like (Tik Tok, Likee, etc.…). Number of short video makers reached 28 million, whereas the total number of hours recorded 10 million/ day in total, by an increasing rate of usage of about 41% in comparison to Ramadan of 2023.

2. E-mail: Number of users sending or receiving online mails, via Google Mail, Yahoo Mail, etc.…, reached 18 million with 15 million e-mails sent daily, and by an increase of about 30% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

3. Map search: Number of users who searched for locations and directions via Google Maps, Here We Go, and Waze, reached 24 million. Meanwhile, the number of location searches recorded 58 million per day and rose by 81% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

4. Watching entertainment content: Watching movies and TV series via specialized online streaming apps and platforms, such as Netflix, Shahid, and Watch It, attracted 41 million viewers with viewing hours that reached 14 million/day. Usage rate of this service increased by 41% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

5. Online shopping: Online shoppers of products or services from the diverse shopping apps and websites, like Amazon, Jumia, etc.…) reached 19 million in number, with 1.3 billion visits daily. Usage rate of such a service declined by about 3% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

6. Internet browsing and content downloading: Users who browsed different websites containing news, educational or other content, and viewed or downloaded content as well as different files, and upgraded any software, via browsing apps such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, etc.…, reached 49 million in number. Meanwhile, the number of visits recorded 109 billion/ day by an increasing rate estimated by 66% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

7. Social media platforms: These are apps and websites enabling users to post and share any content, whether text, audio, video, or data, with other users, such as Facebook, Twitter etc… Users of this service reached 42 million in number with 17 billion visits/ day, by a decreasing rate of about 20% when compared to Ramadan of 2023.

8. Search engines: Online searching via different search apps and websites such as; Ask, Bing, and Google, was utilized by 42 million users. Meanwhile, the number of search operations recorded 34 billion/day, by an increase of about 18% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.  

9. Online gaming: Number of players who practiced the online video games, like PlayStation and Xbox, reached 21 million. Meanwhile, the number of playing hours reached million/ day, by an increasing rate of about 20% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

10. Online chatting: Users who sent and received text, voice, or video messages via specialized apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, etc…. reached 40 million in number, whereas the number of instant messages recorded  675 billion/ day. In fact, usage rate of this services increased by about 10% in comparison to Ramadan in 2023.

11. Live videos: Number of users who created live videos to be shared with other users on social media websites and platforms like Facebook, YouTube, etc… reached 21 thousand. Meanwhile, live streaming hours recorded 4 thousand/ day, by a rising rate of usage of about 46% compared to Ramadan of 2023

12. Remote meetings: These are the study, official, or business meetings held online via different apps such as; Hangout, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Number of users who utilized this service reached 6 million achieving 196 million meeting hours/ day. Usage rate decreased by about 76% in comparison to Ramadan of 2023.