ALBtelecom sh.a. (a shortening of Albanian Telecom, ) was an Albanian telecommunications company. It was established as Albania's state company that provided telecommunications services through a fixed network. It was privatized on 1 October 2007 (following a privatization process which started in 2000), with 76% of its shares sold by the Albanian government to a consortium of two Turkish companies, Çalık Holding and Türk Telekom, with Calik taking 80% of the consortium's stake.
History
On 5 December 1912 the Provisional Government led by Ismail Qemali established the Ministry of Post Telegraph Telephones, where ALBtelecom existed only as a government office.[1]
Despite the difficulties in the works carried out until the end of the 1930s due to World War II, during this time an automatic exchange with about 1000 numbers was installed. The consequences of the war were also visible in the telephone communication sector, where many of the lines were damaged. During 1945, many of the telephone lines were rebuilt, while the Post and Telegraph offices were reopened to their pre-war levels.
August 1947 also marks the first establishment of the General Directorate of Post and Telecommunications, which was subordinate to the Ministry of World Affairs.