State-backed Algerie Telecom announced the commercial launch of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services in several provinces (wilayas) on 30 January 2018, adding that the gigabit-capable direct fibre access network is being deployed to the rest of the country, with further regional launches expected through the year.
As reported by Agence Ecofin, the residential FTTH rollout is the delayed result of a January 2016 contract with China’s Huawei Technologies worth USD335 million, which according to local reports was just ‘20% completed’ by January 2018 despite original plans for a one-year contract duration. Algerie Telecom had faced fierce opposition to the non-transparent manner in which the contract was awarded without public tender. TeleGeography notes that until now, Algerie Telecom provided residential fibre-to-the-building (FTTB)/FTTH in limited, selected locations only (including FTTH in the El Harrach district of Algiers).