ESIS extension / Palestine Territories / Regulatory Developments / Update Memo 6

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

Although the Palestinians were due to have declared statehood on September 13, they pushed back the date to give more time for peace negotiations with Israel. The Palestinian leadership now says its main goal is to build national institutions so they will be up and running once statehood is eventually proclaimed. For its part, the Ministry of Communications has vowed to implement reform.

As the web of Palestinian-run territories approaches statehood, the Palestinian leadership has increasingly touted the Internet as a possible springboard to launch its new national economy. While President Arafat has repeatedly said he hopes to turn the future Palestinian state into an information technology powerhouse similar to Singapore. Palestinian professionals speaking at a symposium, at Ramallah the 13^th and 14^th of September, described the current hi-tech sector as unpredictable and that a more clearly defined playing field would help attract investors.

Paltel acting chief executive officer Zahi Khouri, officially declared that the company is heading towards international partnership through opening a specified share of Paltel, for leading international telecommunication companies. The percentage of the company to be sold, the method of sale and the international partner have not been settled yet. He emphasized the strong interest expressed by many international companies in the Paltel sale.

Khouri elaborated that strategic investment is currently being encouraged aiming at comprehensive uplifting of the whole Telecommunications Sector level in Palestine. Thus, transforming Paltel into a benchmark of communication services with global and state of the art specifications is to be tangible shortly, and so allowing for direct interaction with international markets. He added that strategic shareholding in Paltel with one of the most advanced telecommunications providers, would eventually lead to acquiring distinguished multi-national experiences and preparing for future universal competition.(Source: Paltel)

Startec Global Communications Corporation, an integrated communications provider for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), data and Internet services to emerging economies, signed an aggreement with the Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel) to deliver inbound and outbound VoIP services to the Palestinian Market (VoIP is a technology that provides numerous advantages over the traditional method by which voice traffic is sent). Using digital rather than analog signals, VoIP transfers information more efficiently and permits the seamless integration of voice, data, Internet and video services over the same network. The agreement is the first of its kind between Paltel and any U.S. company. Paltel is the sole provider of telecommunications services in Palestine and the only completely private entity of its kind in the Arab world. It already operates a 100% digital network and has seen remarkable growth in the number of working lines, nearly tripling from 1996 to 1999.

Telecommunications Minister Imad Al-Faluji issued a ministerial decree (the order is due to take effect from the 1^st of October) imposing a flat 20-dollar rate for Internet access aiming to increase the number of Palestinians connected to the Internet by lowering costs.

John Morgridge, chairman of the Cisco Systems corporation presided over the inauguration of a Regional Cisco Network Academy at Birzeit University. The President of Birzeit University, Dr. Hanna Nasser, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Economy and Trade , Maher Al-Masri , and Mr. Morgridge each addressed a audience of 200 participants in Kamal Nasir Hall. The partnership with Cisco not only marks the launch of the Cisco Network Academy at Birzeit, but also a renewed commitment to being at the forefront of the information technology revolution. Dr. Hanna Nasser, announced the new BIT program (Birzeit Information Technology Unit) headed by Marwan Tarazi, and plans for an IT Center of Excellence and an on-campus Technology Park.

By joining the 1200 Cisco Academies already active around the world as a Regional Academy, Birzeit plans to open and cooperate with ten local academies that include five industrial schools and five other universities in Palestine. Through the Birzeit Regional Academy, and the Local Academies, Palestinian students will be able to gain valuable technical skills that can assist in putting Palestine onto the Internet map. Birzeit also stands to gain a mainstream training program and access to cutting edge hardware and teaching resources. According to Dr. Hanna Nasser the Academy has importance on a broader scale, "Information technology has the potential to be one of the leading economic sectors in the new Palestine. [It] offers us a challenge to engage and develop as a region, as a society, and hopefully in the very near future, as the first new state of the 21^st century." (Source: Press release)

Please note that this report has been prepared under the sole responsibility of the ESIS II contractors.
It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, nor does the Commission accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information contained herein.
The ESIS Team of contractors welcomes any additional information or corrections.