Telecom Egypt to Lay First Submarine Cable Between Egypt & Albania

Telecom Egypt and Hungary’s 4iG Group have signed a deal to establish a direct international connection between Egypt and Albania by building the first maritime cable linking the two countries. The plans aim to expand communications capabilities to accommodate the significant growth in demand for international data traffic between Europe and the MENA region.

Currently more than 90% of the volume of data transmitted between East and West passes through Egypt because of its unique geographical location; there are already 14 international submarine cables flowing in and out of Egypt. Work is underway to establish five additional international submarine cables, such as the recent project between Telecom Egypt and Jordan’s Naitel to connect Taba and Aqaba.

4iG is one of the largest communications and IT companies in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Trade cooperation between Egypt and Hungary has seen a significant increase since 2010, with Arab-Hungarian trade more than doubling in the same period, owing in large part to projects between the two countries.