Epic Ltd (from 2004 to 2007 Areeba Ltd, and then from 2007 to 2019 MTN Cyprus Ltd), is a

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

based

telecommunications service provider Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

owned by

Monaco Telecom Monaco Telecom is the primary telecommunications provider in the Principality of Monaco. Established in 1997, the company was formed following the government of Monaco's decision to privatize the previously state-owned Office Monégasque des T ...

. It is the second largest

mobile network operator A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, mobile network carrier, mobile , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, wireless operator, wireless telco, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of se ...

in Cyprus by number of subscribers, behind Cyta. In addition to its already established mobile network, the company is a provider of fixed telephony, broadband services and TV.

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. In December 2004, Areeba introduced the first 3G network in Cyprus.

MTN (2007–2019)

In September 2007 Areeba was rebranded to ''MTN'' after its parent company (

Investcom MTN Group Limited (formerly M-Cell) is a South African multinational corporation and mobile telecommunications provider. Its head office is in Johannesburg. MTN is among the largest mobile network operators in the world, and the largest in ...

) was acquired by the multinational telecommunications company

MTN Group MTN Group Limited (formerly M-Cell) is a South Africa, South African multinational corporation and mobile telecommunications provider. Its head office is in Johannesburg. MTN is among the List of mobile network operators, largest mobile netwo ...

. In March 2008, MTN upgraded its 3G network to support

HSPA HSPA may refer to: * High Speed Packet Access, a mobile broadband technology * Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Education * High School Proficiency Assessment * Humphrey School of Public Affairs, an American public policy school * Hunter Sch ...

(marketed as 3.5G). In October 2008, the MTN Group and Amaracos Holdings entered into a partnership with Amaracos acquiring 49% of MTN Cyprus' stock. 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, thus entering both the fixed telephony and internet service markets respectively for the first time. 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. In March 2015, MTN launched its 4G/LTE network, being the first alongside

PrimeTel Primetel PLC is a Cypriot telecommunications company that offers and develops voice, data, and video services. It is ranked third in fixed-line telephony after Cyta and Cablenet, with a market share of 10.7%. The company owns and operates a r ...

to introduce the first 4G networks in Cyprus. In May 2017, MTN expanded its services to include subscription based TV by launching MTN TV. In September 2018, it was announced that

(operating in the principality of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and a member of

NJJ Holding NJJ is a French holding company controlled by Xavier Niel that owns numerous companies. The company's main activities are in telecommunications, real estate and the press, notably through its stakes in Salt Mobile, Eir, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfie ...

) had acquired the entire share capital of MTN Cyprus from the MTN Group for €260 million. 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. In November 2018, MTN upgraded its 4G network to support

LTE-A LTE Advanced, also named or recognized as LTE+, LTE-A or 4G+, is a 4G mobile Cellular network, cellular communication standard developed by 3GPP as a major enhancement of the LTE (telecommunication), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Three tec ...

(marketed as 4.5G). In May 2019, MTN announced the deployment of

wideband audio Wideband audio, also known as wideband voice or HD voice, is high definition voice quality for telephony audio, contrasted with standard digital telephony "toll quality". It extends the frequency, frequency range of audio signals transmitted ove ...

for voice calls between its subscribers (also known and marketed as

HD voice Wideband audio, also known as wideband voice or HD voice, is high definition voice quality for telephony audio, contrasted with standard digital telephony "toll quality". It extends the frequency range of audio signals transmitted over telephone ...

Epic (since 2019)

In June 2019, Monaco Telecom retired the MTN brand name and renamed the company as ''Epic''. In December 2020 Epic deployed

VoLTE Voice over Long-Term Evolution (acronym VoLTE) is an LTE high-speed wireless communication standard for voice calls and SMS using mobile phones and data terminals. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than older 3G UMTS an ...

on its 4G network, becoming the first mobile network in Cyprus to do so. 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. On 9 July 2021 Epic officially launched its 5G network.

Marketshare

According to statistics released by the Office of Electronic Communications & Postal Regulations (OCECPR), as of March 2021, Epic is the second largest mobile network operator in Cyprus, after CYTA (which has a market share of 54.50%), controlling 33.80% of the market.

Awards

Epic has won the following awards:

Mobile Network Frequencies

References

External links

* {{Mobile network operators in Cyprus Mobile phone companies of Cyprus Telecommunications companies established in 2004 Nicosia 2004 establishments in Cyprus