Under the conditions of the MoU, the two companies will explore different connectivity options between Greece and Egypt, as well as the use of both Telecom Egypt’s and Grid Telecom’s networks and international footprint, through interconnectivity to neighbouring countries.
Despite reports, according to a Grid Telecom spokesperson the announcement "does not refer to any specific subsea cable system"
"IPTO’s agreement to work with one of the world’s leading subsea cables operators further advances our international growth strategy and can actively contribute to Greece’s emergence as a key telecommunication hub in the broader Mediterranean region.”
“We are pleased to work with Grid Telecom, as this collaboration reinforces our strategy to further expand our international infrastructure and increase the geo-diversity of our assets," said Adel Hamed, managing director and CEO of Telecom Egypt
The agreement was signed at the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO)’s headquarters in Athens, parent company of Grid Telecom/
In attendance was Adel Hamed, managing director and CEO of Telecom Egypt; Manos Manousakis, chairman and CEO of IPTO; Dr Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology; Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Greece’s Minister of Digital Governance; and Mohamed Elghazawy, the Chargé d' Affaires of the Embassy of Egypt in Athens.
At the same time, bilateral talks between Ministers and government officials of both countries also took place during the signing ceremony, covering a number of topics, namely AI, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
"Grid Telecom, in its only three years of presence, has achieved major domestic and international business partnerships and is already recognised as a key provider in the wholesale telecommunications market," said Georgios Psyrris, director of Grid Telecom.
"With this MoU, Telecom Egypt becomes an important partner and strong ally for our regional expansion and highlights the strong market confidence to our company’s further growth prospects”.
Speaking further to Capacity, the aforementioned Grid Telecom spokesperson, said that the MoU "includes the possibility to construct a new cable system between Port Said and the island of Crete subject to a valid business plan. It also includes the possibility to construct a branch from any existing system landing in Egypt and passing near the island of Crete".
"The objective is to connect Egypt with Greece in order to create a new reliable route and utilise networks on the two sides extending to European and Middle East destinations."
Grid Telecom's fibre optic network spans more than 4,000km, offering fibre connectivity between the island of Crete and the Greek mainland, as well as its network infrastructure in Italy, the Balkans, and Central Europe.
Telecom Egypt has an international network of over 140 landing points in more than 60 countries and has invested extensively in its submarine cable infrastructure, this includes is participation in the 2Africa subsea cable consortium, as well as Hybrid African Ring Path (HARP) by 2023, a new subsea system that will outline the African continent.
“IPTO, building upon its ongoing collaboration with Egypt in the Energy sector, enters into a constructive partnership with Telecom Egypt that lays strong foundations for new international connectivity projects in the growing field of telecommunications between the two countries," said Manos Manousakis, chairman and CEO of IPTO.
"With Grid Telecom as an important strategic partner, we will be able to expand our reach to Europe via Grid Telecom’s extensive network in and beyond Greece.”
