The fiber optic cable avoids cellular calls going through London.
Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) and Palestine Cellular Communications Co. Ltd. (Jawwal) are in negotiations to link Jawwal by fiber optic cable to Jordan, said Jawwal in press conference on Monday. The cable will link Jawwal and its parent company, Palestine Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PalTel) to a server farm that PalTel is establishing in Jordan. The link will probably utilize the fiber optic cable that Partner is currently laying to Jerusalem, by extending it eastward.
The server farm will operate PalTel and Jawwal switches, some of which are currently located in London. Israel's Ministry of Defense establishment opposes the establishment of the new switches within the Palestinian Authority, with the result that Jawwal cannot recruit more subscribers because its current switches cannot handle the increased traffic created by its rapid growth to date.
Jawwal set up switches in London to handle the increased traffic. In effect, domestic cellular calls with the Palestinian Authority are routed through London. This is inconvenient, hence the decision to set up a server farm in Jordan to replace the switches in London.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 22, 2008
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