The wholly owned subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) of Greece, Grid Telecom and Telecom Egypt, Egypt's first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cables operators in the region, signed a collaboration agreement to build a subsea system connecting Egypt and Greece. Adel Hamed, CEO of Telecom Egypt, and Manos Manousakis, chairman and CEO of IPTO, signed the Agreement.
Commenting on the Agreement, the Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Adel Hamed, said: "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."
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According to Telecom Egypt, the deal is in keeping with its objective to improve its infrastructure, widen its international network, and increase the number of points of entry into Europe by establishing an eastern gateway via Greece through the new subsea system.
The Chairman and CEO of IPTO, Manos Manousakis, said: "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."
Connects Port Said in Egypt to Crete Island
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 important adjacent destinations in Central and Western Europe, and southwards to the Arabian Peninsula and other regions in Africa and Asia. This subsea system also reinforces Egypt's strategic position as an international telecommunications hub linking the East and West.
A strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed earlier this year between Grid Telecom and Telecom Egypt, laying the framework for investigating various connectivity alternatives between Greece and Egypt via present and future optical fiber networks. This was followed by signing an agreement to build this new subsea system extending the mutual international reach to neighbouring countries.
