In early March, Algerie Telecom announced it was to increase its international bandwidth to 100 Gbps by the end of 2011. The move has been praised by industry experts and on Friday, a ministry of communications official said that the country was moving toward international broadband standards in the hopes of creating an atmosphere for investment and advancement.
“We believe that by increasing our IT sector, and specifically, the broadband bandwidth, Algeria can push forward on plans to create a country that is open and enticing to international companies,” said Mohamed Zeinadeen, a consultant for the ministry.
He added that the government hopes an increase in capacity will “enable foreign capital to enter the country and help develop the investment sector in technology.”
He also pointed to Egypt’s success in creating a similar increase in bandwidth over recent years, which has “helped foreign corporations to see the usefulness of Cairo as a potential hub,” singling out Microsoft as one of those companies that has set up shop in Cairo’s Smart Village.
“We need to understand that through an increase in Internet and IT infrastructure, Algeria can become a leading destination for companies to enter the market,” the official added.
It comes as the country announced plans to complete an undersea cable linking Algeria to Europe via Spain.
Algerie Telecom CEO Dabouz Mohamed told reporters earlier in March that “the company had increased the number of broadband lines in its network to 1.8 million, up from 400,000 in June 2008, thanks to the deployment of MSAN accesses sold under the Anis Plus brand.”
Algerie Telecom has rolled out over 400,000 MSAN lines in five regions in 2010 and plans another 500,000 this year. The operator currently has 830,000 ADSL subscribers and expects the number to rise with the upcoming capacity increase.
By Jonathan Terry
