Albtelecom

Albtelecom

Type	Private
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1912
Headquarters	Tirana
Key people	Erkan Tabak, CEO
Products	Fixed telephony, Internet services
Website	www.albtelecom.al

Albtelecom SH. a. (a shortening of Albanian Telecom) was founded on 5 February 1992 as Albania's state telecommunications company, having previously existed as a government office tracing its history back to 1912.^[1] It is the largest fixed line telephone company in the country, currently covering around 10 per cent of Albania's 3.2 million population.^[2]

It was privatized on 1 October 2007 (following a privatization process starting 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.^[1]

In May 1996 Albtelecom created Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC) and in March 2008 created another mobile telephony company called Eagle Mobile,^[3] which gained a 13% market share within a year, with 385,000 subscribers.^[4]

History

ALBtelecom, which was created in 1912, right after the Independence of Albania, and was licensed to provide fixed telephony and internet, in 1992, by the Entity of Telecommunication Regulation (ERT), continues to be an indispensable part and the first choice of Albanians when it comes to communication. The ALBtelecom Company 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, turning this into a successful entrepreneurship.

The Albanian telecommunication giant offers qualitative communication through the fixed telephony, the ADSL, the Dedicated Internet Access, the Dial-up, the Intranet, the ISDN service, the prepaid cards, etc. In the end of 2012, ALBtelecom had 230,000 subscribers in the PSTN service (fixed telephony), owned 81 percent of the fixed telephony market and 64,000 subscribers in the Internet service; in other words about 45 percent of the market.

By the end of 2012, the company has invested about €150 million and continues to invest on the replacement or expansion of the network, 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. Albtelecom has over 1,600 employees all around Albania. The network of its shops, which continues to expand, is 150.

The ALBtelecom backbone provides continuous transmission of high-capacity internet and telephony services, having a maximally protected optical network, not only resistant against physical breakdowns, but also for analogue transmission.

Now, the optical fibre network has already reached 3,000 km across the country, as well as 600 km of international network that enables connection with the neighbouring countries. In 2007, when the company was privatized, there were only 500 km of optical fibre.

Before the privatization

The 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 Lef Nosi was appointed as the first minister of this Ministry. This ministry would later be called the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.

Despite all the efforts to create a structure that would facilitate the communications within and outside the country, during World War I, the interconnection suffered mass destruction. Its transformations resumed immediately after the creation of the new Albanian state in 1920. The government invested in the construction of the first plant with a capacity of 200 numbers.

The Interconnection Administration of the Albanian State was created in year 1922, as a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it adhered as a member of the International Postal Union, and became a member of the International Telecommunication Union as well. During the rule of Ahmet Zog, interconnection was technically backward and nothing but a limited network which served mainly to the state administration.

In 1930, another plant, with a capacity of 150 numbers, which aided the state institutions was installed. At this time, 94% of the interconnection was covered by the postal service, 4% was covered by the telegraphic services, and 1% by the telephony service.

The aftermath of World War II was still present in the telecommunications sector, where many of the lines were damaged. During 1945, many of those were rebuilt, and in the meantime the Post-telegraphic offices reopened, standing on similar levels to those of pre-war.

The telephonic interconnection with the world was established in 1946, through the Tirana-Peshkopia line. In this same period, the interurban telephone service by means of booths is introduced for the first time.

In August 1947, the General Directorate of Post-Telecommunication was created under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also, in this same year, it was installed the first automatic plant in Tirana, with a capacity of 800 numbers.

In 1960, the fixed telephony capacity quadrupled. Meanwhile, given the ever-increasing need for communication, in 1965, Post-Telecommunication offices were established in all the localities of the country. This was accomplished through direct telephone interconnection of all offices with Tirana.

In the early 1970s, the Post-telecommunication Sector took another important step; enabling of the connections with the villages. It was in this year that Tirana acquired direct connection with all other cities/towns.

The 80s and onwards mark the increase in investment flows, in the context of plant capacity expansion in the cities, to strengthen and develop the technical base, as well as to mount the numbering system devices, highly facilitating the telephone communication path.

Furthermore, the 1990s brought a new wind of positive changes in our country, which coincided with the installation of a new system and which was accompanied by gigantic changes in the field of telecommunications.

On February 5, 1992, the Albanian Telecom was established as a separate enterprise. During the 15-year period, the fixed telephony company marked many investments in network improvement, and in the offering of new services. The public telephone service of prepaid cards was established during the first part of 1996, whereas in 1997, a more qualitative line of optical fibre cable was applied in the transmission of international traffic.

Privatization

The 2000s belong to a new phase of privatization preparations for ALBtelecom. CETEL Telekom, consisting of one of the largest companies in Turkey, Çalik Group (80% of the shares), and Turk Telekom (20% of the shares), bought 76% of the ALBtelecom shares, while the rest of the shares (24%) is owned by the Albanian government and other shareholders.

After a long negotiation procedure, on October 1, 2007, the CETEL Company (Ankara), member of ÇALIK Holding, headquartered in Istanbul, and in consortium with Turk Telekom, officially became the owner of the fixed telephony giant ALBtelecom, and of the third mobile operator in Albania, Eagle Mobile.

100 percent of the shares of Eagle Mobile were owned by ALBtelecom. Based on the contract ratified by the Albanian Parliament, ÇALIK HOLDING and Turk Telekom, became owners of 76% of the shares of ALBtelecom. The goal of the privatizer of this company was to develop and enhance the quality of telecommunications, as well as to provide a new cutting edge and up-to-date technology.

During these years, it was worked to create a network maintenance centre. Thus, in 2001, the Network Supervising and Maintenance Centre was founded, together with the expansion of existing capacities by means of two technologies, the “Alcatel S12” and “Siemens EWSD”. 2004 was an important year in the development and improvement of the Company. The first phase of Invoicing and Customer Care systems, as well as the central internet network expansion, and the ADSL technology were implemented.

Since the privatization of the company, in September 2007, in addition to providing services in the fixed telephony and in the broadband internet service, ALBtelecom has carried out a large volume of investments for setting up a modern network of shops, as well as for the total replacement of infrastructure and network around the country.

Eagle Mobile

The merging process of ALBtelecom and Eagle Mobile began in March 2011. Although being part of the same package, the companies functioned as two different entities. In February 2013, the company ALBtelecom took possession of the mobile company, Eagle Mobile, which turned into a brand within ALBtelecom. The Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AEPC - AKEP) has given ALBtelecom the license of transfer that allows the company to offer products and services of fixed telephony, and broadband internet, as well as mobile telephony and mobile broadband internet under the Eagle Mobile trademark.

In March 2008, the prime ministers of Albania and Turkey, Sali Berisha and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, respectively, began official communications over Eagle Mobile with a symbolic "ALO".

Eagle Mobile set a new record by entering the Albanian telecommunication market on 12 March 2008. In a very short period, of 6 months, Eagle Mobile covered the whole territory of the country, exceeding all speed limits and expectations. Now the company covers 98.5% of the country's population and 92.5% of the national territory. The third operator helped in the market liberalization. Prices underwent a sharp decline of over 40% with its arrival. Before merging with Albtelecom, Eagle Mobile had about 520 employees, together with the subcontracting companies. The Eagle network of shops is already integrated with those of ALBtelecom and reaches an amount of 150. Now, Eagle Mobile offers the full roaming service in over 220 countries, with 420 operators.

Furthermore, Eagle Mobile marks 1,472,000 subscribers. This company was the first to bring EDGE technology to the Albanians, the fastest mobile internet service with the 2.5G technology, and now the company uses the latest and fastest technology in Albania, the 3.5G service. The Dual-Carrier HSPA+ system used by Eagle Mobile plans to eliminate the decline in mobile internet capacity during the peak time. In February 2013 ALBtelecom & Eagle Mobile were finally merged in one single company and on 3 April were officially presented under the unique brand of ALBtelecom. During the Gala Event, Elvana Gjata, famous Albanian pop-star was introduced as the official image of the company.

References