Deutsche Telekom extends 'T' brand to Albania

Deutsche Telekom is introducing its magenta branding colour and famous "T" logo to the Albanian market as part of the group's strategy to bring its European affiliates and subsidiaries under the Telekom brand.

Albanian Mobile Telecommunications (AMT) has now been renamed Telekom Albania and will officially adopt the Telekom brand identity and operate under the "T" logo as of tomorrow (Thursday).

The German operator noted that Albania is the 12th country across its European footprint to turn magenta. Indeed, Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania united under the single Telekom Romania brand last year to reflect their heightened focus on converged fixed and mobile services.

However, Telekom Albania is not fully owned by Deutsche Telekom: according to the German operator's web site, Greece-based OTE owns 99.79 per cent of the former AMT, while Deutsche Telekom holds a 40 per cent stake in OTE. It has been speculated previously that the company could seek to buy the Greek government's 10 per cent stake in OTE.

For its part, the new Telekom Albania is focusing on the launch of its 4G network: the company gained a 4G licence in March 2015 and is now selling the service on a commercial basis.

The company has already launched a new online shop under www.telekom.com.al, marketing 4G services at download speeds of up to 150 Mbps on smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Converged services do not appear to be on the agenda for now. As things stand, Telekom Albania sells primarily mobile voice and data services, with 2.06 million subscribers as of April 2015. Furthermore, fixed penetration is also still extremely low in the country: according to statistics provided by research company BuddeComm in April, fixed broadband penetration stood at 7 per cent in 2014, while fixed-line voice penetration was 9 per cent. Mobile penetration, meanwhile, was 175 per cent.

A spokesperson for tthe German operator said in comments emailed to FierceWireless:Europe that the company is focusing on welcoming Albania to the Telekom brand family for the moment.

"In principle, across our footprint, we are looking into strengthening the existing operations. There is a high potential in the local market, lots of space for integrated services and Telekom Albania will be at the forefront of further developments, as it has already proven today with the launch of 4G in the country. That's all we can say for the moment," the spokesperson added.

Claudia Nemat, board member for Europe and technology at Deutsche Telekom, said the rebranding reflects the group's commitment to Telekom Albania and its employees. The company's motto "Life is for sharing" has also been translated into the Albania "Çaste qe na Lidhin" in Albanian.

"Our aim is to become the leading European telecommunications provider and offer best customer experience driven by our technological leadership," Nemat said.

For more:
- see this Deutsche Telekom release
- see this BuddeComm report

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