The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Telecom Egypt and 4iG Plc., a leading telecommunications and IT group in Hungary and the Western Balkans, on establishing a point-to-point, high-capacity subsea cable connecting Egypt and Albania, with the potential to reach Eastern and Central Europe and other points along the route
The cable to be constructed is a new traffic entry to Europe via Albania and adds a new and multiple route to the Egyptian-European traffic. It represents a qualitative addition to the existing Mediterranean routes, connecting the main Internet points of presence (PoPs) in Europe such as the ones in Budapest, Vienna, and Frankfurt, in addition to numerous potential PoPs in Eastern Europe.
Telecom Egypt Managing Director and CEO Mohamed Nasr and 4iG Plc. Chairman Gellért Jászai signed the MoU. The signing ceremony was attended by Hungarian Ambassador to Egypt András Kovács and various officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Telecom Egypt.
The ICT Minister highlighted that the MoU aims to promote cooperation between Egypt and Hungary by building a new subsea cable between Egypt and Albania to improve connectivity. He emphasized that the most important pillar of the cooperation is to implement the strategy targeting Eastern Europe to enhance business sustainability and future expansions.
Egypt is expanding its international digital infrastructure as over 90% of the data transferred between the East and the West passes through Egypt, due to its strategic geographic location. Several projects are underway to increase the number of international subsea cables in Egypt. Egypt currently has 14 international subsea cables, and about five new ones are to be established through international alliances, ICT Minister stated.
For his part, Kovács underlined that Hungary strongly supports the cooperation and that ongoing strategic cooperation efforts are being made between Egypt and Hungary at the political level and in specialized fields. He looked forward to enhancing ICT cooperation between the two countries and expanding governmental collaboration between MCIT and its Hungarian counterpart. He added that these efforts will impact the business sector, especially as many Hungarian ICT companies are getting more interested in exploring investment opportunities in Egypt.
Nasr commented that Telecom Egypt is pleased to cooperate with 4iG to lay the groundwork for adding a brand-new, diverse entry point to Europe in Albania. This will facilitate the routing of African and Asian traffic to the main PoPs in Central and Eastern Europe. The MoU is in line with Telecom Egypt’s strategy to diversify the Mediterranean Basin crossing options via multiple, high-capacity subsea cables linking Egypt and Europe. He added that the cable is to be connected to all landing stations in Egypt via Telecom Egypt’s newly-launched open ecosystem “WeConnect,” to support the direct connection between the cable planned to be established and the various subsea cable systems existing in Egypt.
Jászai stated that signing the MoU with Telecom Egypt represents a significant milestone for 4iG Group, leveraging its extensive experience, and marks its entry into a new and strategically significant business field: intercontinental connectivity. He added that, through its future plans to establish a new international subsea cable system, 4iG Group aims to strengthen its presence in the regional market by establishing a new data gateway in Albania for the Balkans and expanding international optical transit routes. These efforts, he said, are expected to create new opportunities to cooperate with partners in many countries in the region.
The two companies aim to gain a significant share of the huge and rapidly growing market for data traffic between Europe and Asia, as well as between Europe and East and South Africa, through this MoU. The MoU also enables 4iG Group to enter the intercontinental data traffic infrastructure market, connecting Europe, Asia, and East Africa.
Albania is privileged by its strategic location as one of the prominent gateways and entry points to Eastern Europe. It also has a network of secure cross-border terrestrial routes that help support direct connectivity to various key destinations.
It is worth noting that Telecom Egypt is the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region. With an established history of over 165 years and vast expertise in pioneering subsea intercontinental connectivity, it is the partner-of-choice for a growing 160 major subsea cable players worldwide.
Telecom Egypt is committed to developing a diverse portfolio of offerings using cutting-edge solutions to meet the growing global demand for international connectivity and diversity, while providing the shortest and most reliable routes for its global partners. It has heavily invested in the industry to diversify its international infrastructure, including landing points, cable systems, and terrestrial and subsea routes, both inside and outside of Egypt.
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