MCIT- Signs Installation of 289 Telecommunication Towers

In order to deliver better telecommunication services throughout the country, Ministry of Communications & IT (MCIT) signed the contract of 8 Universal Project with (Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless and Wasel Telecom) companies, which includes 289 BTSs and Towers in 213 districts and 34 provinces of the country during a press conference held on Wednesday May 21, 2014 at the conference room of MCIT.

The conference was attended by Deputy (Technical) Minister of MCIT Eng. Baryalay Hassam, directors of MCIT; chairmen of the mentioned companies and mass media representatives.

First Eng. Hassam briefly explained the importance of telecommunication in daily life of the people. He said: in compliance with the provisions of the Telecommunications Act and the prevailing international procedures “Telecommunication Development Fund (TDF) was established.

Based on the provisions of Telecommunications Act, the telecommunication service providing companies are obligated to make contributions equal to 2.5% of their net revenues towards the TDF on a quarterly basis.

Deputy Minister Eng. Hassam continued: that Afghanistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority published a tender for the Eight Universal Access project, including 289 BTSs and Towers, in 213 districts and 34 provinces of the country.

He stated: that in process of the bids evaluation, the following companies were announced as winners:

Afghan Telecom Company: winner for 192 sites

AWCC Company; winner for 85 sites

Wasel Telecom Company; for 12 sites

These 289 sites are expected to be implemented in districts and areas in which there are no telecommunication services, or the service level does not meet the communities’ needs. By completion of these projects, about 578000 of our fellow citizens in the remote areas will benefit from telecommunication services.