| Epic Ltd | |
| Former Name: | Areeba (2004–2007)[1] MTN (2007–2019) |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Telecommunications |
| Founder: | Investcom |
| Hq Location City: | Nicosia |
| Hq Location Country: | Cyprus |
| Num Locations: | 18 (2021) |
| Area Served: | Cyprus |
| Owner: | Monaco Telecom (100%) |
| Num Employees: | 300 (2021) |
| Parent: | Monaco Telecom |
Epic Ltd (from 2004 to 2007 Areeba Ltd, and then from 2007 to 2019 MTN Cyprus Ltd[2] ), is a Cyprus based telecommunications service provider owned by Monaco Telecom.[3]
It is the second largest mobile network operator in Cyprus by number of subscribers, behind Cyta.[4]
In addition to its already established mobile network, the company is a provider of fixed telephony, broadband services and TV.[5]
The company commenced its operations in Cyprus in July 2004 as Areeba after being granted the second mobile telephony licence by the Cyprus Government.[6] In December 2004, Areeba introduced the first 3G network in Cyprus.[7]
In September 2007 Areeba was rebranded to MTN after its parent company (Investcom) was acquired by the multinational telecommunications company MTN Group.[8] In March 2008, MTN upgraded its 3G network to support HSPA (marketed as 3.5G).[9]
In October 2008, the MTN Group and Amaracos Holdings entered into a partnership with Amaracos acquiring 49% of MTN Cyprus' stock.[10] 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,[11] thus entering both the fixed telephony and internet service markets respectively for the first time.[12] 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.[13]
In March 2015, MTN launched its 4G/LTE network, being the first alongside PrimeTel to introduce the first 4G networks in Cyprus.[14] In May 2017, MTN expanded its services to include subscription based TV by launching MTN TV.[15]
In September 2018, it was announced that Monaco Telecom (operating in the principality of Monaco and a member of NJJ Holding) had acquired the entire share capital of MTN Cyprus from the MTN Group for €260 million.[16] 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.[17]
In November 2018, MTN upgraded its 4G network to support LTE-A (marketed as 4.5G).[18] In May 2019, MTN announced the deployment of wideband audio for voice calls between its subscribers (also known and marketed as HD voice).[19]
In June 2019, Monaco Telecom retired the MTN brand name and renamed the company as Epic.[20]
In December 2020 Epic deployed VoLTE on its 4G network, becoming the first mobile network in Cyprus to do so.[21] 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.[22]
On 9 July 2021 Epic officially launched its 5G network.[23]
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.[24]
Epic has won the following awards:
| Best Mobile Network in Test | June 2020,[25] March 2021[26] | ||
| Fastest Mobile Network | January–June 2020,[27] July–December 2020[28] | Ookla | |
| Fastest Fixed Internet | April–September 2023[29] | Ookla |
| 900 | GSM-900 | 2G | |
| 1800 | GPRS/EDGE | 2G | |
| 900 | UMTS/HSPA+ | 3G | |
| 2100 | UMTS/HSPA+ | 3G | |
| 800 | LTE/LTE-A | 4G/4G+ | |
| 1800 | LTE/LTE-A | 4G/4G+ | |
| 2600 | LTE/LTE-A | 4G/4G+ | |
| 700 | 5G NR | 5G | |
| 3600 | 5G NR | 5G |