South Korean giant LG Cable Limited has entered into an agreement with the WorldCALL Telecom Limited for laying down $15 million worth of high-speed communications network in the country. The South Korean giant would also export optic fibre cable at a cost of $4 million for this purpose to the country's first long distance international (LDI) service provider.
Sources in the telecom sector said that WorldCALL reached the deal recently and would soon start materialising laying down the high-speed communications network plan.
The two companies finalised the deal in anticipation that the WorldCALL would start its telecom services in the second half of 2005, a source said, adding, "This is two-fold deal which says that the LG would export fibre optic to WorldCALL and at the same time would lay down communication network."
However, the source said, the way of implementing the deal has yet to be decided as whether the LG Pakistan would lay down the communication network through its own workforce or hire local labour.
"It is not decided yet," but it would be finalised soon and if the LG decides to hire local labour it would give short-term employment opportunities to hundreds of people," the source added.
The WorldCALL is one of over 12 companies that have both long distance international (LDI) and local loop (LL) licences following the deregulation of the telecom sector. The telecom sources believe that the WorldCALL contract with the foreign telecom would encourage other companies to strike same deal and lay down their own communication network rather than depending on the state-owned and infrastructure-rich company Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
"The agreement would enable WorldCALL to have an independent communication network," another source said, adding, "As per the deal signed initially the network would provide services to one million subscribers in the major areas."
Earlier, the WorldCALL had already entered into long-term strategic partnership with the United Kingdom's giant British Telecom (BT) as both signed a master agreement for co-operation and partnership covering different areas of their respective operations. Under the long-term strategic partnership, the BT will provide WorldCALL with an opportunity to leverage BT's global Internet Protocol (IP) backbone, Voice Network and state-of-the-art satellite transmission infrastructure for different types of services (voice, video, data) launched by WorldCALL in June-July, this year, after the award of LDI/LL licences by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Under this agreement, BT will provide WorldCALL with end-to-end satellite transmission solutions, including premium quality, high capacity, full duplex leased connectivity, between WorldCALL's operation centres at Karachi, Lahore and London Point of Presence (POP). BT is also establishing two fully redundant, carrier grade satellite-ground infrastructure for WorldCALL in Karachi and Lahore.
The BT will also terminate its voice traffic for Pakistan through WorldCALL LDI Network and start with a minimum of five million minutes a month and work together for leveraging each other's infrastructure for joint launching of innovative service offering for the Pakistani and global market place.
Presently, the British Telecom is sending around 20 million minutes a month into Pakistan, a source said.
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