Telecom Egypt, which early this week announced that it had assumed total control of its subsidiary TE Data, said the move would enhance the growth of the broadband industry in the North African country.
“We expect the importance of this segment to grow further going forward and, as such, have taken advantage of the opportunity to establish full ownership of the business,” Chief Executive Officer Tarek Tantawy said in a statement to media.
Telecom Egypt on Monday bought the remaining 4,95% of shares in TE Data from three unnamed banks in the country, bringing its ownership to ownership to 100 percent.
Tantawy said in the statement that TE Data’s ADSL subscriber base grew 68% to 572.000 at the end of September last year compared to the same period a year earlier.
Telecom Egypt, the country’s main telephone company, started in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. In 1998, it replaced the former Arab Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Organization (ARENTO).
The company has a fixed line subscriber base in excess of 12 million subscribers, which makes it the largest fixed line provider in the Middle East and Africa. It established TE Data late 2001 to act as its data communications and Internet arm.
by Ahmed Mussa Mustafa
