Albanian Mobile Communications
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC), Telekom Albania, Albtelecom Mobile |
| Founded | November 1995 |
| Headquarters | Albania |
Area served | Albania |
Key people | Bashkim Kasa (historical project manager) |
| Products | Mobile telecommunications, fixed-line services, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G services |
| Owner | Antenna Hungária (76% ownership via 4iG transfer) |
| Parent | 4iG (majority interest) |
| Website | one |
One Albania sh.a is a telecommunications provider operating within Albania. Originally established as Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC), it became part of the COSMOTE Group in 2000. In 2015, the company joined the Deutsche Telekom group and was rebranded as Telekom Albania.
In September 2020, the firm officially changed its registered name from Telekom Albania to One Telecommunications, marking the start of a rebranding process. By January 2023, Albtelecom and One unified under the single brand One Albania, harmonizing with the branding strategy of One Montenegro. The registered name was formally updated to One Albania by March 2023.
History
Established as a state-owned enterprise named Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC) in November 1995, the company commenced operations in May 1996 as Albania’s inaugural mobile network operator. The project was managed by Bashkim Kasa under the guidance of Aleksandër Meksi. AMC underwent privatization in August 2000 when Cosmote acquired an 85% stake through COSMO-HOLDING ALBANIA S.A., eventually increasing ownership to 97%.
On 16 January 2019, OTE, affiliated with Deutsche Telekom, reached an agreement to sell Telekom Albania (formerly AMC) to Albania Telecom Invest for €50 million. The buyer’s ownership included Bulgarian Vivacom proprietor Spas Roussev and entrepreneur Elvin Guri.
The Albanian Competition Authority approved the acquisition of ONE Telecommunication by Hungarian firm 4iG on 10 March 2022. Shortly after, on 21 March, 4iG announced it had obtained a 99.899% indirect interest in One Telecommunications. This followed 4iG’s purchase of ALBtelecom, positioning the combined entity as a leading telecommunications operator in Albania with complementary assets.
After expanding its telecom holdings in Albania, Montenegro, and Hungary, 4iG agreed to transfer control to Antenna Hungária, raising its ownership share to 76%.
The company operates under the brand name One.al, although devices may still display identifiers such as Telekom.al or AMC.
Services
At the time COSMOTE took over AMC, the company served approximately 11,000 subscribers making outbound calls. By December 2001, the subscriber base had grown to over 273,000 and reached nearly 1.9 million by 2009. Currently, AMC’s network extends coverage to 99.6% of Albania’s population and spans about 95% of its territory. In 2011, the number of customers slightly decreased to around 1.8 million.
In that same year, AMC entered the Albanian fixed-line market as the country’s second national provider.
AMC was also the second mobile operator in Albania to introduce 3G technology. It secured the second 3G license in September 2011 for €15.1 million, outbidding Eagle Mobile. The company launched its 3G services in January 2012 and expanded coverage to nearly 95% of Albania by mid-year.
In March 2015, AMC obtained a 4G license and commenced commercial LTE operations by mid-2015, becoming the second provider to offer LTE services in Tirana and Southern Albania. It was among Europe’s pioneers in deploying LTE-A Cat4 technology, enabling download speeds up to 150 Mbit/s.
AMC has collaborated with international applications such as AirBnB, Deezer, Evernote, and Magisto. The company has earned accolades for Business Excellence and Social Contribution and participated in the ICT Coalition for Safer Internet for Children between 2012 and 2013.
Following Plus Communication's exit from the Albanian market, Telekom Albania (now One Albania) acquired half of Plus's frequency allocations alongside Vodafone Albania.
In September 2019, One secured a frequency band of 2×10 MHz (811–821 MHz/852–862 MHz) at a cost of €7.44 million. By 2020, One reported that its 4G network covered approximately 98.1% of Albania’s population—the widest coverage across the country.
On November 25, 2024, One was granted a total of 120 MHz within the 3420–3540 MHz range and launched 5G services immediately. As of May 26, 2025, One claims to operate the largest 5G network in Albania, covering major urban centers including Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Vlorë, Shkodër as well as key tourist regions.
Revenues
In 2005, AMC reported revenues surpassing €137 million. By 2007, this figure had climbed to €176.2 million, reflecting an annual growth rate of 16.7%. That same year, EBITDA increased by 20.1%, achieving a margin of 62.0%, while net income grew by 22.1%, resulting in a net margin of 34.6%. During the third quarter of 2008, AMC's EBITDA margin reached 67.4%. In 2011, the company's revenue was recorded at €119.3 million.
By the first quarter of 2019, Albania had a total of 3.66 million mobile subscribers, with 2.5 million classified as active users—those having used services within the previous three months—yielding a penetration rate of 101%.
The sector is regulated by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority.
| Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers
(millions) |
Ownership | MCC / MNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Albania
• Incorporates the former ALBtelecom Mobile network. |
GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE), 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA
800/1800/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, VoLTE 3420/3540 MHz 5G NR (under development) |
1.914 (Q3 2021) | 4iG | 27601
27603 |
| 2 | Vodafone Albania | GSM-900/1800 MHz (GPRS, EDGE), 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA
800/1800/2100/2600 MHz LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro VoLTE 3600/3700 MHz 5G NR (under development) |
1.975 (Q2 2025) | Vodafone Group plc (99.9%) | 27602 |
Controversy
In 2017, telecom providers reduced the duration of their monthly plans from 30 days to 28 days, which triggered an investigation by the regulatory Authority that subsequently mandated a return to the original 30-day billing cycle.
In 2019, following tariff increases by Vodafone Albania, Telekom Albania, and Albtelecom—raising prices by ALL 200 and doubling the minimum recharge amount from ALL 100 to ALL 200—the Albanian Competition Authority stepped in due to consumer complaints. The Authority required the providers to lower their prices, which they complied with.