Incumbent operator Telecom Egypt is gradually moving towards its goal of becoming the leading connectivity services provider in the region. As part of its strategy, the company is teaming up with like-minded international partners.

Egyptian telecom operator Telecom Egypt and 4iG, a Hungarian IT service management company, signed a memorandum of understanding in Cairo on Wednesday, October 4, to link Egypt and Albania via a high-capacity fiber optic submarine cable.

The cable to be built will be a new traffic entry to Europe via Albania and will add a new multiple route to Egyptian-European traffic. "With an open access model and multiple branching units, the system is set up to be a new European cable entry point with a different transit passage compared to the already existing Mediterranean routes to the main internet Point of Presence (PoP) such as the ones in Frankfurt in addition to numerous potential Points of Presence in Eastern Europe," said 4iG in a press release.

For Budapest-based 4iG, the new agreement represents a gateway to “enter as a new player in the market for intercontinental data transmission infrastructure between Europe and Asia, and Europe and East Africa.”  Meanwhile, Telecom Egypt indicates that the initiative is part of its strategy to diversify transit options in the Mediterranean basin by means of multiple, high-capacity submarine cables linking Egypt and Europe.

According to Amr Talaat, Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the country is already connected to 14 international submarine cables, and work is underway to establish five new cables. In addition, Telecom Egypt is the partner of choice for the deployment of submarine cables for over 160 companies worldwide.

Ultimately, the new submarine cable will, among other things, facilitate connectivity in the countries concerned and create new opportunities for cooperation with partners in many countries.

Samira Njoya