Alcatel sings deal to modernize Kosovo's fixed phone network

Associated Press, Jul 27, 2005 5:47 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-French telecommunications company Alcatel SA signed a deal Wednesday with Kosovo's Telecom to modernize and expand the fixed-line network infrastructure in the province, an official said.

Under the €17 million (US$20 million) deal, several dozen outdated systems will be updated with new technology, said Seremb Gjergji, the spokesman for Kosovo's Post and Telecom.

The project also aims to double the number of fixed-line phones, Gjergji said. Currently, there are 115,000 users of fixed telephony.

"The state-of-the-art solution that will be provided is unique in the Balkans and among the most innovative in the world," the Kosovo company said, adding that the agreement will bring province's telecom "the next generation VoIP solution."

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, technology shifts calls away from wires and switches, instead using computers and broadband connections to convert sounds into data and transmit them over the Internet.

The implementation of the project will start in October, Gjergji said.