Vodafone Albania

Vodafone Albania (part of Vodafone Group plc) is a major telecommunications company based in Tirana, Albania.[1]

Vodafone Albania
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded2001 (2001)
HeadquartersTirana, Albania
Number of locations
146
Area served
Nationwide
Key people
Katia Stathaki (CEO)
Products
Number of employees
398 direct employees and 561 indirect employees
ParentVodafone Group plc
SubsidiariesABCom
Websitewww.vodafone.al

Technology

Vodafone Albania started offering GSM services on August 3, 2001, after AMC (now One Albania) started doing so in 1996. The network displays as VODAFONE AL or VodafoneAL on devices.

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 One Albania.

On February 12 2019, Albania’s telecoms watchdog, Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (Albanian: Autoriteti i Komunikimeve Elektronike dhe Postare, 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 30th, it was publicly tested, alongside important state officials, such as Prime Minister, Edi Rama. The full rollout of 5G to consumers has not yet commenced.

ABCom

On October 29, 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

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.

RankOperatorTechnologySubscribers
(in Millions)		Ownership MCC / MNC
1Vodafone AlbaniaGSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE)
2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+
800*/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro		1.787 (Q1 2019)Vodafone[4] 27602
2One Albania
(Formerly One Telecommunications, Telekom Albania, AMC,ALBtelecom Mobile(Formerly Eagle Mobile,Telekomi Shqiptar)
*Includes the previous One Albania network.[5]		 GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE)
2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+
800/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A
VoLTE		1.914 (Q3 2021) Antenna Hungária[6][7] 27601
27603

Economic and social investments

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

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

References
  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.
  3. "2019 yearly report" (PDF). AKEP (in Albanian). 2019.
  4. "Vodafone Financial Results Spreadsheet".
  5. "Bashkimi i madh vazhdon - ONE Telecommunications dhe ALBtelecom bashkohen ligjërisht për t'u bërë ONE Albania". One Albania (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  6. Pham, Manny (2022-04-13). "4iG bolsters position to take on Hungary market rival". Developing Telecoms. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  7. "4iG has unified its telecommunications portfolio with Antenna Hungaria". www.4ig.hu. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
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