3 - Strategic Objectives and Quantitative Targets 3.1 Strategic Objectives The National ICT Strategy for 2012-2017 aims to enable the ICT sector with all its resources to help achieve the objectives of the 25 January Revolution – freedom, democracy and social justice – supported by an open and competitive market. It also aims at raising the attractiveness of the Egyptian economy to investment, increasing revenues for the government and the private sector, and facilitating the necessary restructuring of the sector in line with global innovation in the field. The strategy targets not only building a strong national industry capable of raising exports and creating job opportunities for youth, but also helping to improve the level and quality of public services. The realization of this vision requires a process of cumulative building on achievements in , support of Egypt s continued development in the realm of ICT, with work on various strategic axes in line with the government objective of positioning Egypt as one of the most prominent knowledge-based economies. In this context, Egypt’s strategic ICT objectives are characterized by applicability and quantitative measurability, allowing for easy monitoring of progress. The four main strategic objectives of the strategy are: Supporting the democratic transition Promoting digital citizenship and information society Promoting sustainable development Strengthening the national economy 22 23 First: Supporting the democratic transition 1- Building a knowledge-based society with universal access to information resources This is served by the National Broadband Strategy to expand the geographic coverage of infrastructure providing high-speed internet and to increase internet penetration, particularly in marginalized and under privileged areas. The strategy aims to raise the number of subscribers to high-speed internet to 13 million by 2015, through the expansion of the broadband network, especially last mile links and fiberoptic cables for telephone exchanges. The strategy also seeks to raise the proportion of Egyptian households using personal computers to 40%, to provide a national network of 1,000 Technology Homes and 2,000 IT Clubs, to connect all schools and educational institutions to high-speed internet, to expand e-commerce by 20%, to increase the number of secured Egyptian websites by 810% to increase the proportion of banking customers using online or mobile banking to 30%, and to increase use of e-signature applications by government bodies. 2- Digital identity management A large number of digital identity management solutions have been developed in recent years as part of efforts to build public confidence in online transactions and encourage the use of electronic services. These ongoing efforts involve developing suitable technological tools and systems; promoting greater use of e-commerce, e-health and e-government services; and developing cyber security systems to prevent identity theft and protect user privacy.