Vodafone cuts-off mobile coverage in Egypt

Vodafone has suspended its mobile phone service in parts of Egypt, amid mass anti-government protests throughout Cairo.

The operator – Egypt’s largest with over 28 million customers – said that all networks had been asked by the government to cut-off mobile phone communications.

‘All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas,’ read a statement from Vodafone Egypt. ‘Under Egyptian legislation the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it.’

According to the BBC, internet and mobile phone services have been unavailable in Cairo since early Friday, in an attempt by the government to quell protests calling for the removal of president Hosni Mubarak.