[August 25, 2011] ALBtelecom, Motorola partner to bring broadband to Albania Tweet TIRANA, Aug 25, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Turkish-owned ALBtelecom, Albania's fixed-phone monopoly, and U.S. Motorola signed a cooperation deal to supply and install Motorola technology to offer broadband internet access all over Albania, ALBtelecom said on Thursday. ALBtelecom and Motorola, through the Verso company, have signed the cooperation deal for the supply and installation of Motorola Canopy Fixed Wireless Broadband Access technology to extend internet coverage even in the deepest areas of Albania where its service was unavailable. They did not say how much the deal was worth. "By this project, any household or any business will be able to enjoy the benefits of internet with a good quality, no matter where in Albania. The project will serve also to the education system of Albania as it will increase the quality of internet service in the schools of pre-university system in deep mountain regions," ALBtelecom said in a statement. The project is already being implemented and until now as many as 350 villages, totalling a population of 420,000, are already covered with Albtelecom's internet service by Motorola Canopy Solutions. In just a few months, more than 1300 villages in Albania will have full access to high quality of internet, even in remote mountains where there are no fiber optics. "We feel proud and happy that the project Motorola Canopy shorten digital divide between the urban and rural areas of Albania as it will bring affordable internet services to all Albanian citizens," said Orhan Coskun, ALBtelecom's general manager. Turkey's Calik Holdings owns ALBtelecom after buying a 76 percent of its shares for 151 million US dollars in 2005. Press reports have indicated China's Huawei group might be interested in buying ALBtelecom. Ian Bayly, Motorola's Director for Europe, said that their company specializes in broadband Internet service and they will be rolling out the next generation wireless with ALBtelecom in Albania, one of Europe's poorest and most rugged-terrain countries. "We are very excited to be associated with the Albanian schools project with our partner ALbtelecom. We are going to be bringing wireless broadband to all schools, 1600 schools across the country. We have got a lot of experience delivering broadband into schools and we are very pleased to be here in Albania," Bayly said. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]