Telecom Egypt and Hungarian telco 4iG will build and operate a fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-site network in Egypt.

The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the joint venture and build a fiber network to serve a minimum of six million households on a wholesale basis.

The JV is expected to invest around $600 million in Egypt’s fiber infrastructure in the next 10 years.

The business model, ownership structure, governance processes, and technological details are yet to be confirmed.

Telecom Egypt added the partnership is part of its plan to transform all areas of Egypt into fiber-to-the-home networks under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s Digital Egypt Strategy.

The partnership also aligns with Egypt’s 2030 Vision for a digitally transformed society and a robust digital economy.

“Through this agreement, which will capitalize on our respective strengths in the ICT industry, we will accelerate Egypt’s digital transformation thanks to the future-ready network that will ramp up 5G and many other next-generation services such as IoT and enterprise networks,” said Mohamed Nasr, managing director and CEO at Telecom Egypt.

Gellért Jászai, chairman of 4iG Group, said: “The combination of the strengths and expertise of the two major companies foresees the success of the Egyptian fiber network development program. It also ensures the application of the latest technologies and innovations, as well as the establishment of high-quality services across the country.”

The two companies have previously partnered to develop a subsea cable connecting Albania to Egypt. The MoU was signed in October last year, with the project now underway according to Jászai.

Hungary-based 4iG is an IT services firm. The company moved into Albanian telecoms in 2021 after it acquired the formerly state-owned ALBtelecom from Calik Holding. It then acquired Vodafone's Hungarian operations last year and merged the two units under the ONE Albania brand.

Telecom Egpyt completed the build of two subsea cable landing stations in Egypt with SubCom last month for its IEX cable system. Since last year, the telco has been selling assets to raise funds for the development of its 5G network rollout.