Paltel and the Palestinian Information Technologies Association of Companies (PITA) have agreed to enter into strategic cooperation through the signing of a joint initiative aimed at enhancing the resources required for developing Internet services and penetration in Palestine.
The initiative is based on the regulatory environment that is facilitated by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. The cooperation is a step to help reach national objectives of increasing Internet usage by 10 percent of the population in one year.
To achieve the goals of this initiative, PALTEL has voluntarily agreed to refrain from entering the Internet Service Provision business to end users in Palestine, despite being licensed to do so. Paltel’s role will be to provide all infrastructure and backbone services required by the ISP’s, that are represented by PITA. In turn the ISP’s can expect to maximize the benefits from this initiative in order to provide optimal services to their end users at reasonable prices.
In addition, all existing ISP’s have agreed to refrain from providing any services whether in the realm of infrastructure, backbone services, or access from any telecommunication service provider except from Paltel, as it is the sole licensee by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication.
The two parties will engage in marketing efforts via strategies to alleviate penetration obstacles such as availability of relevant goods and services such as home PC’s, modems and telephone services. Both sides will also work to promote Internet awareness and the new prospects the Internet shall bring to the general development of the population and the country.
The private sector in Palestine has relied heavily on the Internet communication, video conferencing including other forms of telecommunications to transact its business between remote locations given the difficulty of travel between cities as a result of the ongoing hostilities. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
