Vodafone Albania

Vodafone Albania is part of Vodafone Group Plc, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies.[1]The Display name of Vodafone: Voda AL or VODAFONE AL

Vodafone Albania
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded2001
HeadquartersTirana
Number of locations
146
Key people
Achilleas Kanaris(CEO)
ProductsPrepaid mobile phone and Postpaid mobile phone
Number of employees
398 direct employees and 561 indirect employees
ParentVodafone Group Plc
Websitevodafone.al

Technology

Vodafone Albania started offering GSM services for the first time in Albania on August 3, 2001.

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

On February 12 2019 Albania’s telecoms watchdog the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (Autoritetit Te Komunikimeve Elektronike Dhe Postare, AKEP) has announced the results of the first round of its 800MHz auction, confirming that Vodafone Albania was the only provider to submit a bid for the frequencies. The cellco offered just over EUR7.44 million (USD8.4 million) for a 2×10MHz block of spectrum in the 800MHz 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 frequency band of 3600MHz-3700MHz. And on October 30 it was publicly tested with state officials being present such as Edi Rama. Vodafone is the first company in Albania to bring the 5G network.

ABCom

On October 29 Vodafone Albania has 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 late on Monday.The acquisition will enable Vodafone Albania to become a full service telecoms company by offering fixed and mobile communications and TV services to households and businesses, After the transaction is completed, Vodafone Albania intends to pursue a new strategic investment plan for AbCom.

Market Share

Albania as per Q1 2019 has 3.66 million subscribers, out of which there are 2.5 million active users (101% penetration rate). An active user is the number of users that communicated in the last three months.[2]

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[3] 27602
2Telekom Albania
(Formerly AMC)		GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE)
2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+
1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A		1.261 (Q1 2019)Albania Telecom Invest[4] 27601
3ALBtelecom Mobile
(Formerly Eagle MOBILE)		GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE)
2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+
1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A		0.613 (Q1 2019)ALBtelecom 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 and it was reported to the Competition Authority. The three companies took immediate action to lower the prices in accordance with the instructions of the Albanian Competition Authority.

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See also

References
  1. "Vodafone Albania trade-off: 1 GB/month free Internet with e-invoice". Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  2. "2019 yearly report" (PDF). AKEP (in Albanian). 2019.
  3. "Vodafone Financial Results Spreadsheet".
  4. "OTE agrees to sell Telekom Albania for €50 million to Albania Telecom Invest" (PDF). Telekom.com.al. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
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