Egypt will be ready to roll out 5G wireless connections as early as 2020, said ICT Minister Yasser Al Qady at the Alexandria Techne Summit ICT conference on Saturday. We would like to extend the following message to the minister: Please hold your horses, one G at a time. If 4G licenses are any indication, 5G may be “coming soon” for several few years after 2020. Al Qady also announced that the ministry will suggest draft legislation governing drones. Al Qady invited companies and other groups working on drone technology to lend their thoughts on the regulatory framework for the industry, Al Borsa reports. Al Qady also announced that the ministry would help develop and launch the companies of the top four ideas in the Seedstar competition at the summit. Some 14 teams are competing for the chance to to travel to Switzerland and compete for USD 500k at the global summit.

Also coming out of the summit was the announcement that the Borg Al Arab and New Assiut technology zones will begin operations in October, Al Mal reports. Deputy ICT Minister Mohamed Abdel Wahab said the ministry will begin building the third new tech zone in Tenth of Ramadan at the end of the year. The Borg Al Arab zone will consist of 32 office buildings and tech centers. Furthermore, the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport signed an MoU with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to cooperate on developing IT training facilities and manage incubators for budding entrepreneurs at the two tech zones. Under the agreement, the Arab Academy will also market technology events and incubators to universities across Egypt, Al Mal reports. ITIDA’s CEO also announced that the authority will develop four regional incubators at a cost of EGP 100 mn.