CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will launch its first communications satellite into orbit on Friday, a move it said would improve telecommunications infrastructure and Internet services and attract investment.
The Tiba-1 satellite will be launched at 2108 GMT on a European ArianeSpace rocket from the space center in French Guiana, officials said.
The 5.6-tonne satellite, made by Airbus and Thales Elenia Space, will remain in space for at least 15 years to provide telecommunications and Internet services throughout the country, officials said.
"The satellite will provide a communications network parallel to the current terrestrial network and provide Egypt with a strong communications infrastructure," Egyptian Space Agency chief Mohamed El-Qousy told Reuters.
"The growth of the economy depends on a strong communications network."
The agency will run the satellite from a control center in Cairo.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat said in a statement that the satellite "represents a great qualitative breakthrough in the field of communications and information technology."
The coverage of Tiba-1 includes some Arab and African neighbors, and Egypt may sell satellite services to those countries in the future.