Mrs Feraoun: “400 Billion dinar worth package to ease the grip on Algerians and hike the Internet flow

The internet prices will plummet “gradually” and Internet broad-band connection speeds will be hiked during the year 2016, the Minister of Post and Information and Communication Technologies, Imane-Houda Feraoun announced Wednesday in Algiers.

“We are seriously thinking about reducing internet prices gradually in order not to affect future investments undertaken by Algeria Telecom,” said Ms. Faraoun at a press conference she hosted at the headquarters of her ministry.

She stressed that at the end of the phase of major investments launched by Algeria Telecom in the course of 2016, the internet price services “will drop and broad-band connection speeds will markedly increase.”

While noting that current internet price services in Algeria are “higher than those charged by our neighbors”, she explained that the slashing of these prices “should be carried out gradually in order to tally with those now in force elsewhere in the world.

Ms. Feraoun, on this occasion, stressed the need to develop a blueprint for the establishment of an internet network to be deployed throughout the national territory.

This will have a very “detailed” map of the deployment of fiber optics in Algeria, she explained, adding that the master plan is a kind of network architecture.

The Minister also stressed the planned improvement of quality of services by Algeria Telecom to promote the Algerian Web contents to be hosted in Algeria itself.

“Algeria Telecom is investing in increasing its storage capacity, reducing the cost of hosting and improving the security of its facilities,” she added.

“These upgraded provisions of service will enable Algeria Telecom to attract Algerian customers to host their Web content in Algeria itself and not through foreign serving providers”, Ms Feraoun underscored.

At another level, the minister asserted that there is a “reflection” on leveling higher tax duties for imported smartphones and computers so as to spur national production in this sphere of activity.