Tunisian telecommunication operator Tunisie Telecom has finally decided at its board of directors’ meeting to enter the capital of the GO (former Maltacom), which is the mobile operator of Malta. Tunisian Telecom will buy shares of GO, that will enable the operator to have 60% of the GO’s stake, which is currently held by Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT), a subsidiary of Dubai Holding sovereign funds.

After the transaction, which will be subjected to the approval of the competent authorities of the two countries, Tunisia Telecom will have a second overseas subsidiary. The telecoms company is currently holding only one subsidiary: Mattel, the second Mauritanian telecom operator in terms of market share.

The acquisition of the majority of GO, the second Maltese mobile operator with 39% market share as at 30 June 2015, before and behind Vodacom Melita Mobile, Redtouch Fone and VFC Mobile, result entry Tunisie Telecom on the European telecoms market.

Go is actively involved in fixed telephony and data via fiber optics. Tunisia Telecom thinks the acquisition of major shares of GO could be a very profitable investment in the long term. The Tunisian group also understand the importance of maintaining the momentum of GO in a very competitive market.

Back at home, the state-backed operator Tunisie Telecom (TT) is set to accelerate its rollout of Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure, the firm’s CEO Nizar Bouguila confirmed at a conference. The CEO also noted that the system had already been deployed in areas of Greater Tunis, including Sidi Bou Said.

Founded more than 165 years ago, Tunisie Telecom is the fully integrated telecom services operator in Tunisia. The operator claims leading market positions across all segments with over 7 million customers and has an employee base of c.7,500. Tunisie Telecom offers the largest mobile coverage in the country, owns and operates a nationwide fixed and fiber network infrastructure. This is complemented by an extensive submarine cable network allowing for direct and fully redundant connectivity with Europe, Africa and Asia. Tunisie Telecom’s service offering ranges from 4G mobile broadband to Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Building as well as cloud and IP-MPLS solutions for enterprises.