France Telecom chief Michel Bon on Thursday pledged to help develop the communications sector in Jordan during talks with King Abdullah II, officials said.
"France Telecom is determined to develop the communications sector in Jordan and help all the Jordanian people, particularly students, have access to the Internet," an official who attended the meeting said.
Bon also took part in a one-day seminar on telecommunications and technology and delivered a keynote address in which he said he expected Jordan soon to become soon "a regional center for the distribution of Internet services."
Around 60,000 Jordanians out of a five-million-strong population subscribe to the Internet, although the number of users is in excess of 250,000, according to the Jordanian computer association.
France Telecom, together with the Amman-based Arab Bank, has held a 40 percent stake in Jordan Telecom since January 2000 — with 88 percent of that stake held by France Telecom.
Last month France Telecom and Jordan Telecom bought Global One, the key Internet service provider in the kingdom for $12.8 million. – (AFP, Amman)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
