Jump to content

Vodafone Albania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vodafone Albania SH.A.
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelecommunications
FoundedAugust 3, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-08-03)
FounderVodafone Group
Headquarters
Tirana
,
Albania
Number of locations
146
Area served
Albania
Key people
Balazs Revesz (CEO)
Products
Owner
Number of employees
398 direct employees and 561 indirect employees
SubsidiariesABCom
Websitewww.vodafone.al

Vodafone Albania SH.A is a major telecommunications company based in Tirana, Albania.[1] It is part of the Vodafone Group.

Technology

[edit]

Vodafone Albania started offering GSM services on August 3, 2001, after AMC started doing so in 1996.

In 2011, Vodafone was the first to launch 3G services. 4 years later, Vodafone was again first to launch a 4G/4G+ network in the country.

In 2018, Plus, the 4th largest mobile network provider, ceased operations in Albania. Vodafone agreed to buy 50% of the frequencies that Plus used to operate, alongside Telekom Albania (now One Albania).

On February 12, 2019, Albania’s telecoms watchdog, Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) announced the conclusion of the first round of its 800 MHz auction, confirming that Vodafone Albania was the only provider to submit a bid for the frequencies. The carrier offered just over EUR 7.44 million (USD 8.4 million) for a 2×10 MHz block of spectrum in the 800 MHz band. AKEP noted that its bid evaluation committee will now review the legal, economic and technical documentation accompanying Vodafone’s bid.

On October 16, 2019, AKEP gave the authorisation to test 5G networks on the 3600 MHz-3700 MHz frequency band. On October 30, it was publicly tested, alongside important state officials, such as Prime Minister, Edi Rama. The full rollout of 5G to consumers has commenced on November 26, 2024.

ABCom

[edit]

On 29 October 2020, Vodafone Albania agreed to acquire the country’s largest cable operator ABCom. “This transaction is part of Vodafone Group’s wider strategy to enhance its mobile businesses with broadband and pay TV services”, Vodafone said in a press release.

The acquisition enabled Vodafone Albania to become a full service telecoms company by offering fixed and mobile communications and TV services to households and businesses. As of the end of June 2020, ABCom had 86.000 broadband subscribers behind One Albania with 133.000 subscribers.[2]

Market share

[edit]

Vodafone Albania, as per Q1 2019, has 3.66 million subscribers, out of which there are 2.5 million active users. An active user is defined as having communication in the last three months.[3]

The regulatory authority for telecommunication in Albania is the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers

(in millions)

Ownership MCC / MNC
1 One Albania

• Includes the former ALBtelecom Mobile network.[4]

GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE)

2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 800/1800/2600 MHz

LTE, LTE-A

VoLTE

3420/3540 MHz 5G NR (in development)

1.914 (Q3 2021) 4iG[5][6] 27601

27603

2 Vodafone Albania GSM-900/1800 MHz

(GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 800/1800/2100/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro

VoLTE 3600 MHz/3700 MHz 5G NR

1.975 (Q2 2025) Vodafone Group plc (99.9%) 27602

Economic and social investments

[edit]

The company invested more than €1,415 million in Albania including investments in infrastructure, spectrum, regulatory fees, distribution channels, human resources etc. Only in 2016-17, Vodafone Albania invested €32 million in network infrastructure and about €16 million in spectrum acquisitions.

Controversy

[edit]

In 2017, operators changed the duration of their monthly packages to 28 days instead of 30. The matter was investigated by the Authority and the operators were ordered to resume the 30-day duration once again.

In 2019, the Albanian Competition Authority intervened after Vodafone Albania, Telekom Albania, and ALBtelecom increased their tariffs by ALL 200 and doubled the minimum recharge value from ALL 100 to ALL 200. The move sparked strong reactions from consumers who felt that the high price increase across three of the main providers was unfair. The action was reported to the Competition Authority. The three companies took action to lower the prices, following the instructions given by the competition authority.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Vodafone Albania trade-off: 1 GB/month free Internet with e-invoice". Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  2. ^ Purnell2020-12-29T16:45:00+00:00, Joseph. "Vodafone Albania quietly plans second cableco buy". TelcoTitans.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "2019 yearly report" (PDF). AKEP (in Albanian). 2019.
  4. ^ "ONE Albania completes migration of ALBtelecom customers". www.commsupdate.com. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  5. ^ Pham, Manny (2022-04-13). "4iG bolsters position to take on Hungary market rival". Developing Telecoms. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  6. ^ "4iG has unified its telecommunications portfolio with Antenna Hungaria". www.4ig.hu. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vodafone_Albania&oldid=1264366366"