Engineer Tamer El-Mahdi, CEO and Managing Director of Telecom Egypt, revealed the outlines of the company's strategic plan for the upcoming phase, which focuses on enhancing digital infrastructure, expanding data centers, submarine cables, and advanced telecommunications services. This comes in tandem with the upgrade of the company's classification within the FTSE Russell Emerging indexes from the small-cap to the mid-cap segment, with a market capitalization of approximately 3.9 billion dollars.
Plans to Expand Fiber Optic and 5G Networks
The company places infrastructure development and modernization at the forefront of its five-year plan, which was approved at the end of 2025. Telecom Egypt aims to raise the penetration rate of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections to between 60% and 65% of the total units connected to the network by 2030, while continuing efforts to reach 100% full coverage before 2035. In a related context, the company focuses on maximizing the utilization of fifth-generation (5G) technology to provide the necessary network capacities for individual and enterprise sector services.
Data Centers and Submarine Cables as Pillars of Growth
El-Mahdi emphasized that Egypt possesses essential components to transform into a regional hub for data and communications, relying on a geographical location through which a large percentage of data traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa passes. The company's infrastructure carries more than 90% of international transit communications between Europe and Asia and between Europe and Africa, with capacities exceeding 330 terabits per second. Within this framework, the company established an independent, wholly-owned entity specialized in data centers to ensure flexibility, rapid expansion, and the attraction of major global hyperscalers.
What Changes Practically?
Transforming the data center activity into an independent company represents a practical step to separate assets and manage them with higher flexibility to attract investments, while the expansion of fiber optic networks reflects a gradual transition from traditional copper infrastructure to ultra-fast networks that keep pace with the growth of digital demand, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.
Investment Vision Regarding Vodafone Egypt
Regarding the company's 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt, management clarified that it is considered a long-term strategic asset that provides sustainable cash flows and annual returns supporting the company's economic value, emphasizing that any decision regarding it requires a comprehensive assessment of the expected yield and return.