September 7 (SeeNews) - Slovenian telecommunications equipment manufacturer Iskratel and Ukrainian sector player Ukrtelecom launched a joint 12 million euro ($14.2 million) investment project for expanding Ukraine's fibre optic network, Iskratel said on Tuesday.
Iskratel and Ukrtelecom signed a three-year network expansion programme to provide gigabit-capable connectivity to 1.3 million people and 530,000 homes in more than 300 rural and urban locations in various Ukrainian regions, the Slovenian company said in a statement.
"The joint programme between Iskratel and Ukrtelecom is playing an increasingly important role in the roll-out of broadband Internet in Ukraine. This collaboration continues the long-term partnership between our two companies in the development of the country's fibre-optical access that now amounts to 25 million euro," Iskratel CEO Zeljko Puljic said.
The telecommunications equipment to be rolled out will be assembled in Slovenia at Iskratel’s production centres and will enable customers to gain access to speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, IPTV and other IP-based services.
“Ukrtelecom is a nationwide telecommunications company with the largest geographical coverage, and we continue in our mission of bridging the digital divide across Ukraine. Working with Iskratel will boost our contribution to the development of Internet access in Ukraine,” Ukrtelecom CEO Yuriy Kurmaz said.
Last year, Iskratel and Ukrtelecom launched a 7 million euro two-year network construction project to connect more than 200 localities in 13 Ukrainian regions.
($ = 0.8441 euro)