WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  
 
 
Centre William Rappard    Rue de Lausanne 154    Case postale    CH - 1211 Genève 21 
 Téléphone:  (+41 22) 739 51 11    Fax:  (+41 22) 731 42 06 
Internet:  http://www.wto.org 
  
 
  Direct line: (+41 22) 739 53 48 Direct fax: (+41 22) 739 57 88       
Email: tessa.jurin@wto.org
 
Reference:     WLI/100         4 June 2002  
 
 
  
MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING 
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
DONE AT MARRAKESH ON 15 APRIL 1994 
 
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES 
 
CERTIFICATION OF RECTIFICATIONS OR IMPROVEMENTS 
TO SCHEDULES OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS 
 
EGYPT 
 
TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFIED TRUE COPIES
 
  I have the honour to furnish herewith a certified true copy of the Certification of improvements 
to the Schedule of Specific Commitments of Egypt. The procedures for these improvements have 
been concluded in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Procedures for the Certification of Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of Specific Commitments (document S/L/84). The 
certified improvements to the Schedule of Specific Commitments of Egypt constitute an integral part 
of its Schedule of Specific Commitments as of 3 June 2002.
1 
 
 
  
 
 
       M i k e  M o o r e  
       D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l  
 
  
 
 
 
02-3244          WT/Let/421 
                                                      
1 For ease of reference, the text of these improvements has also been circulated in document 
GATS/SC/30/Suppl.3. 
  
  
 
MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING 
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
DONE AT MARRAKESH ON 15 APRIL 1994 
 
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES 
 
CERTIFICATION OF RECTIFICATIONS OR IMPROVEMENTS  
TO SCHEDULES OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
 
EGYPT  
 
  WHEREAS the Council for Trade in Services, on 18 April 2000, took a Decision (document 
S/L/83) adopting Procedures for the Certification of  Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of 
Specific Commitments (document S/L/84);  
 WHEREAS in accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Procedures, a draft 
containing improvements to Schedule GATS/SC/30 (Egypt) was communicated to Members of the World Trade Organization in document S/C/W/207 on 19 April 2002; 
 
 WHEREAS the procedures for the re ctifications or improvements to the Schedule of Specific 
Commitments have been concluded (S/L/103); 
 
 IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the annexed im provements to the Schedule of Specific 
Commitments of Egypt are established in conformity with the above-mentioned Procedures and 
constitute an integral part of Egypt's Schedule of Specific Commitments as of 3 June 2002.
 
 
 This Certification is deposited with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, who shall promptly furnish a certified true copy to each Member of the World Trade Organization.  It shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. 
 
 DONE at Geneva this fourth day of June, two thousand and two.  
 
  
 
  
Mike Moore 
Director-General 
 
 
  
 
  
 
Certified copy:  
 
 
  
 
 Director-General   
 - 1 -  
EGYPT 
 
General Agreement on Trade in Services 
 
Schedule of Specific Commitments 
 
Supplement 3 
 
(This is authentic in English only) 
 
This text is inserted as the telecommunicatio ns services section in document GATS/SC/30. 
 
 
4 June 2002 
 - 2 - EGYPT – SCHEDULE OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS 
 
 
 Modes of supply:  1)  Cross-border supply  2) Consumption abroad   3) Commercial Presence    4) Presence  of  natural persons
Sector or Sub-sector Limitations on Market Access Limitations on National Treatment Additional Commitments 
2.C. Telecommunications 
 Services 
 This schedule does not 
include 
telecommunication 
services supplied for distribution of radio or 
television programming 
for direct reception by service consumer.  
(3) a) Licenses for the provision of all 
telecommunication services in Egypt are to 
be granted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. A transparent and 
non-discriminatory Economic Needs Test 
shall be the main basi s for granting licenses 
until 31/12/2005.
1 
 
 b) Licenses are to be provided only to 
companies registered in Egypt. 
   
The government of Egypt 
undertakes additional 
commitments as set out in the attached reference paper hereto. 
Egypt is currently in the process 
of presenting a new Telecommunications Act to the 
People's Assembly (Egyptian 
Parliament).  
  c) Telecom Egypt has exclusive rights to 
provide cross-border transmission into or 
out of  Egypt using any means of technology for an exclusivity period that 
terminates no later than 31/12/2005. 
Licensees providing international data 
communication services have to lease international private lines from Telecom 
Egypt throughout the period of exclusivity. 
  d) Companies working in the 
telecommunications sector must train local 
human resources. 
 
   
                                                      
1 Continuation of ENT beyond 31/12/2005 shall be subject to consultations between Egypt and WTO Members, taking into considerati on progress of the CTS 
discussions on ENT.  
 - 3 -  Modes of supply:  1)  Cross-border supply  2) Consumption abroad   3) Commercial Presence    4) Presence  of  natural persons
Sector or Sub-sector Limitations on Market Access Limitations on National Treatment Additional Commitments 
International and domestic services 
using any means of technology: 
2.C.a Voice telephone 
services 2.C.d Telex services 
2.C.e Telegraph services 
2.C.f  Facsimile services 2.C.g  Private leased lines 
 (International Only) 
 (1) Unbound until 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none.
2  
(2) None. 
(3) a) Telecom Egypt has an exclusivity for the 
provision of the services that terminates no 
later than 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none. (1) None 
(2)  None 
(3)  None  
  b) Resale of services is allowed based on 
agreements with Telecom Egypt. 
 
 c) Telecom Egypt is currently privatizing 
part of its shares through an initial public offering or sale to a strategic investor. 
Telecom Egypt may continue the 
privatization up to 49% of its shares in subsequent stages. 
 d) Public payphones, none. 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 (4)  Unbound, except as indicated in the 
horizontal section. (4)  Unbound, except as indicated in 
the horizontal section. 
  
International services using any 
means of technology: 
 
2.C.b&c Data services 2.C.o Internet Services (1)  Unbound until 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none.
2 
(2)  None 
(3)  None (4)  Unbound, except as indicated in the 
horizontal section. (1)  None 
 
(2)   None 
(3)   None (4)   Unbound, except as indicated in 
the horizontal section. 
  
                                                      
2 A license is required.   
 - 4 -  Modes of supply:  1)  Cross-border supply  2) Consumption abroad   3) Commercial Presence    4) Presence  of  natural persons
Sector or Sub-sector Limitations on Market Access Limitations on National Treatment Additional Commitments 
Domestic services using any 
means of technology: 
2.C.b&c  Data services 
2.C.g  Private leased 
lines  
2.C.o  Internet Services (1)  Unbound until 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none.2 
(2) None 
(3) None  (4)  Unbound, except as indicated in the 
horizontal section. 
 (1)   None 
 
(2)  None 
(3)   None (4)   Unbound, except as indicated in 
the horizontal section.  
Other services: 
2.C.o  Mobile services   (Digital Only) (1)  Unbound until 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none.
2 
(2)  None 
(3) Two private GSM900 operators have 
licenses to provide the services in Egypt with exclusive right until 30/11/2002. 
After that date, none. 
(4)  Unbound, except as indicated in the 
horizontal section. 
 (1)  None. 
 (2)  None. 
(3)  None. 
  
 
(4)  Unbound, except as indicated in 
the horizontal section.  
Other services using any means of 
technology: 
2.c.o  Paging services 
2.c.o  VSAT 
2.c.h.-n. Value Added Services  
 
(1)  Unbound until 31/12/2005. After that date, 
none.2 
(2)  None (3)  None 
(4) Unbound, except as indicated in the 
horizontal section   
 
(1) None. 
 (2)  None. (3)  None. 
(4)  Unbound, except as indicated in 
the horizontal section 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
_______________ 
 2A license is required -5- 
 Reference Paper  
 Scope 
 
 The following are definitions and principles on the regulatory framework for the basic 
telecommunications services.  
Definitions 
 
Users
 mean service consumers and service suppliers. 
 
Essential facilities   mean facilities of a public telecommunications transport network or service that 
 
 (a) are exclusively or predominantly provided by a single or limited number of suppliers; 
and 
 
 (b) cannot feasibly be economically or technically substituted in order to provide a service. 
 
A major supplier  is a supplier which has the ability to materially affect the terms of participation (having 
regard to price and supply) in the relevant market for basic telecommunications services as a result of: 
 
 (a) control over essential facilities; or 
 
 (b) use of its position in the market. 
 1. Competitive safeguards  
1.1 Prevention of anti-competitive practices in telecommunications
 
  Appropriate measures shall be maintained for th e purpose of preventing su ppliers who, alone or 
together, are a major supplier from engaging in  or continuing anti-competitive practices. 
 
1.2 Safeguards
 
  The anti-competitive practices referred to above shall include in particular: 
 
 (a) engaging in anti-competitive cross-subsidization; 
 
 (b) using information obtained from compet itors with anti-competitive results; and 
  (c) not making available to other services suppliers on a timely basis technical information 
about essential facilities and commercially re levant information which are necessary for 
them to provide services. 
 
2. Interconnection 
 
2.1 This section applies to linking with suppliers providing public telecommunications transport 
networks or services in order to allow the users of one supplier to communicate with users of another 
supplier and to access services provided by an other supplier, where specific commitments are 
undertaken. 
 -6- 
 2.2 Interconnection to be ensured  
  Interconnection with a major supplier will be ensured at any technically  feasible point in the 
network. Such interconnection is provided 
 
 (a) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions (including technical standards and 
specifications) and rates and of a quality no less favourable than that provided for its own like services or for like services of non-affiliated service suppliers or for its subsidiaries or other affiliates; 
 
 (b) in a timely fashion, on terms, c onditions (including te chnical standards and 
specifications) and cost-oriented rates that ar e transparent, reasonable, having regard to 
economic feasibility, and sufficiently unbundled so that the supplier need not pay for 
network components or facilities that it does not require for the service to be provided; 
and 
 
 (c) upon request, at points in addition to the network termination points offered to the 
majority of users, subject to charges that reflect the cost of construction of necessary 
additional facilities. 
 
2.3 Public availability of the procedures for interconnection negotiations
 
 
 The procedures applicable for interconnection to a major supplier will be made publicly 
available. 
 
2.4  Transparency of interconnection arrangements  
 
 It is ensured that any supplier with a dominant position will make publicly available either its 
interconnection agreements or a reference interconnection offer.  
2.5  Interconnection: dispute settlement
 
 
 A service supplier requesting interconnection wi th a major supplier will have recourse, either: 
  (a) at any time or 
 
 (b) after a reasonable period of time which has been made publicly known 
 
to an independent domestic body, which may be a regu latory body as referred to in paragraph 5 below, 
to resolve disputes regarding appropriate terms, conditions and rates for interconnection within a reasonable period of time, to the extent that these have not been established previously. 
 
3. Universal service 
 
 Any Member has the right to define the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to 
maintain. Such obligations will not be regarded as anti-competitive per se, provided they are administered in a transparent, non-discriminatory  and competitively neutral manner and are not more 
burdensome than necessary for the kind of universal service defined by the Member.  -7- 
 4. Public availability of licensing criteria 
 
 Where a licence is required, the following will be made publicly available: 
 
 (a) all the licensing criteria and the period of time normally required to reach a decision 
concerning an application for a licence and 
  (b) the terms and conditions of individual licences.  
The reasons for the denial of a licence will be made known to the applicant upon request.  5. Independent regulators  
 
 The regulatory body is separate from, and not accountable to, any supplier of basic 
telecommunications services. The decisions of and the procedures used by regulators shall be impartial 
with respect to all market participants.  6. Allocation and use of scarce resources 
 
 Any procedures for the allocation and use of s carce resources, including frequencies, numbers 
and rights of way, will be carried out in an ob jective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory 
manner. The current state of allocated frequency bands will be made publicly available, but detailed 
identification of frequencies allocated for specific government uses is not required.  
 
__________