November 07, 2006	Tuesday	Shawwal 14, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: A Malaysian telecommunication giant on Monday said it will continue to invest substantially in Pakistan, one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in Asia.

"The company plans to spend a total of $100 million on a massive project to connect 107 cities in Pakistan with 4,100 km of nationwide optic fibre cable with a planned rollout over three phases," Yusof Annuar Yaacob, chief executive officer of Telekom Malaysia (TM)'s international investments holding arm, said while speaking at a media briefing on the sidelines of the World Islamic Economic Forum.

He said the first phase of the project will be completed by March 2007, connecting 27 cities of Pakistan to a nationwide optic fibre backbone taking data transfer, video conferencing, internet access etc to the next level.

The investment will be made through TM's Pakistani subsidiary, broadband operator Multinet Pvt Ltd, whose mission is to improve the state of the country's communications solutions by leveraging TM's global network assets.

Multinet will then be able to fulfil the needs of Pakistan's high-growth telecommunication sector, offering services to mobile phone operators, long-distance international operators and internet service providers.

Multinet is currently providing broadband internet access via wire and wireless media in 12 cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Multan, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Sialkot and Shaikhupura.