Blocking the Internet cost Egypt at least $ 90 million

The five-day blocking of Internet services by the Egyptian government cost the national economy at least $ 90 million.

This was stated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The organization noted that telecommunications and Internet services make up 3-4% of Egypt's GDP, so daily losses amounted to about 18 million US dollars.

The Internet blocking was lifted on Wednesday, but the assessment of the true cost of government influence on the economy will take more time.
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By cutting telecommunications, the government broke ties between domestic and international high-tech firms and the rest of the world.

As a result, Egypt may have difficulties in the future in attracting foreign companies and assuring them that the networks will remain reliable.

As you know, the largest Egyptian providers stopped routing traffic immediately after midnight local time on Friday after protests began in Cairo against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. In minutes, the volume of Internet traffic between Egypt and the rest of the world has been reduced to a minimum.