Albtelecom
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Headquarters | Tirana, Albania |
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Key people
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Giuseppe Farina, Chairman of Board; Tahsin Yılmaz, CEO |
| Products |
Fixed Telephony Mobile Telephony Broadband Internet IT Services Networking Solutions IP Television Cloud Services |
| Brands | ALBtv, Eagle Mobile, ALBwifi, |
| Owner | Çalık Holding, Türk Telekom (76%). Albanian State and others 24% |
| Website | www.albtelecom.al |
ALBtelecom SH. a. (a shortening of Albanian Telecom - “Telekomi Shqiptar”) was established as Albania's state company that provided telecommunications services through a fixed network. On 5 December 1912 the Provisional Government led by Ismail Qemali established the Ministry of Post Telegraph Telephones, where ALBtelecom existed only as a government office. It is the largest fixed line telephone company in the country, currently covering with Optical Fiber Backbone Network the entire territory of Albanian cities (Albania's population is 3.2 million).
It was privatized on 1 October 2007 (following a privatization process which started in 2000), with 76% of its shares sold by the Albanian government to a consortium of two Turkish companies, Çalık Holding and Türk Telekom, with Calik taking 80% of the consortium's stake.
In May 1996 ALBtelecom created Albanian Mobile Communications (Now Telekom Albania) and in March 2008 created another mobile telephony company called Eagle Mobile, which gained a 13% market share within a year.
ALBtelecom was created in 1912, right after the Independence of Albania, and was licensed to provide fixed and mobile telephony, and internet, in 1992, by the Entity of Telecommunication Regulation (ERT). ALBtelecom is owned by CETEL a.s., in Ankara (76 percent of the shares), and by the Albanian government and other shareholders (24 percent). CETEL a.s. itself is owned by one of the biggest companies in Turkey, Çalik Group, with 80 percent of the shares, and by Turk Telekom, with 20 percent.
By the end of 2012, the company has invested on the replacement and expansion of the network from TDM to NGN technology, to increase the capacities across the country, on the preparation of infrastructure, on the latest technology services, as well as to improve the service infrastructure, etc.
The fibre optic network has already reached 3000 km across the country, with 600 km of international network that enables connection with the neighboring countries. In 2007, when the company was privatized, there were only 500 km of optical fibre.
Today’s ALBtelecom was founded just after the creation of Independent Albania, in 1912, after the Declaration of Independence of the Albanian State. This government, having acknowledged the importance of interconnection for the essential needs of the new state, population, economy, and external communication, took steps to organize the Post-telegraphic service. For this reason, the Albanian Ministry of Post-telegraph was founded, and Mr. Lef Nosi was appointed as the first minister of this Ministry. This ministry would later be called the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
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Wikipedia