REG - Telecom Egypt S.A.E - TE&Grid Telecom subsea system to link Egypt&Greece

Telecom Egypt Co SAEAnnouncement

13/12/2022 08:45

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RNS Number : 5236J  Telecom Egypt S.A.E  13 December 2022

Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom to build subsea system connecting Egypt and
Greece

 

Cairo, December 13, 2022: Telecom Egypt, Egypt's first integrated telecom
operator and one of the largest subsea cables operators in the region, and
Grid Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission
Operator (IPTO) in Greece, signed a collaboration agreement to build a subsea
system connecting Egypt and Greece. Egypt's Minister of Telecommunications
and Information Technology, Dr. Amr Talaat, witnessed the signing ceremony
held in Cairo, Egypt. The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Adel
Hamed, and the Chairman and CEO of IPTO, Manos Manousakis, signed the
agreement.

 

This agreement is a testimony of the strategic cooperation between Telecom
Egypt and Grid Telecom. It comes in line with Telecom Egypt's strategy of
strengthening its infrastructure, expanding its international network, and
increasing its entry points to Europe by providing an eastern gateway via
Greece through the new subsea system. The system will connect Port Said in
Egypt to Crete island--making it the shortest, lowest latency, Mediterranean
path between Egypt and Europe, extending northwards to the Balkans region and
adjacent important destinations in Central and Western Europe, and southwards
to the Arabian Peninsula and other regions in Africa and Asia. This also
reinforces Egypt's strategic position as an international telecommunications
hub linking the East and West.

Earlier this year, Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom signed a strategic
Memorandum of Understanding, which set the ground for the exploration of
different connectivity options between Greece and Egypt--through existing and
future optical fiber links. This was followed by the signing of a Heads of
Agreement to build this new subsea system extending the mutual international
reach to neighboring countries.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt, Dr. Amr
Talaat, stated that "This significant agreement, which intends to create a new
subsea system connecting Egypt and Greece across the Mediterranean Sea,
strengthens Egypt's strategic capacity in the realm of international subsea
cables by opening a new landing site in eastern Europe on the Greek coast.
 It also provides a strategic advantage, particularly given that more than
90% of the data flow between East and West passes via Egyptian territorial
waters and lands." He further added that the signing of this agreement is the
culmination of ten months of hard work since the start of the negotiations
during his February visit to Greece where he witnessed the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding between Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom with the
aim of connecting the two countries using subsea cable systems.

The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Adel Hamed, commented:

"Telecom Egypt is continuously developing and extending its international
infrastructure. Our collaboration with Grid Telecom will add explicit value to
our robust reach worldwide to more than 140 destinations in over 60 countries.
Our investments in new systems and solutions reiterate our leading position
thanks to the multiple layers of our infrastructure diversity, which include
establishing new subsea landing stations and crossing routes that will cater
for the rising global demand for international capacities."

 The Chairman and CEO of IPTO, Manos Manousakis, stated:

"IPTO Group is taking the initiative to transform Greece into a critical
energy and data hub of high geopolitical value at the crossroads of Europe,
Africa and Asia. In this context, the fact that Egypt is a key international
telecommunications hub for all subsea cables from East to West, creates strong
synergies and win-win business opportunities. We are very pleased that the
cooperation between IPTO's subsidiary Grid Telecom and Telecom Egypt has
culminated in building this subsea system, bringing a new international route
that will enhance the strategic role of Crete island as a neutral open-access
connectivity node in the wider Balkans - Mediterranean region."

- End-

 

About IPTO

The Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) is responsible for the
operation, monitoring, maintenance, and development of the Hellenic
Electricity Transmission System, aiming to ensure safe and undisrupted power
supply across the country. IPTO's Ten Year Network Development Plan provides
for the electrical interconnection of almost all Greek islands in the High
Voltage System by 2029, the strengthening and modernization of the continental
power grid as well as the facilitation of Greece's transition towards a
cleaner energy mix. IPTO's 5-billion-euro investment program, among others,
includes the Crete-Attica power link, supplemented with dual optical fiber
cables, the completion of Cyclades and Sporades interconnections, and energy
storage projects.

 

For more information, contact:

Email: pressoffice@admie.gr (mailto:pressoffice@admie.gr)

 

About Grid Telecom

Grid Telecom is a Greek company established in January 2019. It is a wholly
owned subsidiary company of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO)
of Greece and acts as IPTO's telecommunications vehicle for providing
wholesale services to national and international providers. Grid Telecom's
fiber optic terrestrial and subsea network exceeds 4,000 km throughout Greece
and will further expand to exceed 6,000 km in the next years, connecting the
Greek islands with the core network. Grid Telecom also operates a
state-of-the-art DWDM optical network, providing ultra-fast capacity services,
as well as collocation services within protected areas in IPTO's substation
sites across Greece.

 

For more information, contact:

Email: info@grid-telecom.com

 

About Telecom Egypt

Telecom Egypt is the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt providing all
telecom services to its customers including fixed and mobile voice and data
services. Telecom Egypt has a long history serving Egyptian customers for over
160 years maintaining a leadership position in the Egyptian telecom market by
offering its enterprise and consumer customers the most advanced technology,
reliable infrastructure solutions and the widest network of subsea cables.
 Aside from its mobile operation "WE", the company owns a 45% stake in
Vodafone Egypt. Telecom Egypt's shares and GDRs (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN) are
traded on The Egyptian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Please refer to
Telecom Egypt's full financial disclosure on ir.te.eg (http://ir.te.eg/en/)

 

For more information, contact the investor relations team:

Email: investor.relations@te.eg (mailto:investor.relations@te.eg)

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