Epic (telecommunications)
Cyprus based telecommunications company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epic Ltd (from 2004 to 2007 Areeba Ltd, and then from 2007 to 2019 MTN Cyprus Ltd[2]), is a Cyprus based telecommunications service provider owned by Monaco Telecom.[3]
MTN (2007–2019)
| |
| Formerly | Areeba (2004–2007)[1] MTN (2007–2019) |
|---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Investcom |
| Headquarters | , Cyprus |
Number of locations | 18 (2021) |
Area served | Cyprus |
| Products | |
| Owner | Monaco Telecom (100%) |
Number of employees | 300 (2021) |
| Parent | Monaco Telecom |
| Website | www |
It is the second largest mobile network operator in Cyprus by number of subscribers, behind Cyta.[4]
In addition to its already established mobile network, the company is a provider of fixed telephony, broadband services and TV.[5]
History
Areeba (2004–2007)
The company commenced its operations in Cyprus in July 2004 as Areeba after being granted the second mobile telephony licence by the Cyprus Government.[6] In December 2004, Areeba introduced the first 3G network in Cyprus.[7]
MTN (2007–2019)
In September 2007 Areeba was rebranded to MTN after its parent company (Investcom) was acquired by the multinational telecommunications company MTN Group.[8] In March 2008, MTN upgraded its 3G network to support HSPA (marketed as 3.5G).[9]
In October 2008, the MTN Group and Amaracos Holdings entered into a partnership with Amaracos acquiring 49% of MTN Cyprus' stock.[10] In turn, MTN Cyprus acquired 100% of Infotel Ltd (Germanos chain of stores) as well as Otenet (Cyprus) Ltd, a fixed telephony and internet provider,[11] thus entering both the fixed telephony and internet service markets respectively for the first time.[12] In February 2013, the MTN Group reached an agreement with Amaracos Holdings to acquire the latter's share capital in MTN Cyprus, resulting in the MTN Group now possessing 100% of the shares in MTN Cyprus.[13]
In March 2015, MTN launched its 4G/LTE network, being the first alongside PrimeTel to introduce the first 4G networks in Cyprus.[14] In May 2017, MTN expanded its services to include subscription based TV by launching MTN TV.[15]
In September 2018, it was announced that Monaco Telecom (operating in the principality of Monaco and a member of NJJ Holding) had acquired the entire share capital of MTN Cyprus from the MTN Group for €260 million.[16] As a part of the deal Monaco Telecom was allowed to continue using the MTN brand name for three years in exchange for a commercial fee.[17]
In November 2018, MTN upgraded its 4G network to support LTE-A (marketed as 4.5G).[18] In May 2019, MTN announced the deployment of wideband audio for voice calls between its subscribers (also known and marketed as HD voice).[19]
Epic (since 2019)
In June 2019, Monaco Telecom retired the MTN brand name and renamed the company as Epic.[20]
In December 2020 Epic deployed VoLTE on its 4G network, becoming the first mobile network in Cyprus to do so.[21] In the same month Epic participated in the Cyprus Government's 5G licence auction, winning a licence enabling it to build and operate a 5G network.[22]
On 9 July 2021 Epic officially launched its 5G network.[23]
