4iG, Telecom Egypt to build Albania-Egypt subsea link

The project, which will be conducted by a joint venture between the two companies, aims to meet the increasing demand for data traffic between Asia, East Africa, and Europe, 4iG said in a press release on Thursday.

Additionally, the cable system can be extended to key Mediterranean destinations like Libya, Cyprus, and Greece along its optimised marine path. The initial setup includes a branch to Italy, and users at both ends will have flexible extension options.

On Albania's end, the system will offer the shortest route to Frankfurt and other international destinations in Eastern and Central Europe and the Balkans, including Sofia, Vienna, and Budapest.

Egypt's connection will provide access to various subsea cables heading southeast via the Red Sea to Asia and Africa, along with over 10 terrestrial trans-Egypt routes connecting the Mediterranean segment to other cable options in the Red Sea.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding that the two telecom providers signed in October.

4iG, indirectly owns one of the two mobile networks operators in Albania. Last year, 4iG completed the indirect acquisition of 99.9% of the country’s One Telecommunications and 80.27% of the country’s largest telecom network operator, Albtelecom, to merge them into a sole entity under the One Albania brand.