KT wins US$56.5 mln network deal from Rwanda

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- KT Corp., South Korea's top fixed-line operator, said Tuesday it has signed a US$56.5 million deal with the Rwandan government to provide network infrastructure for the African nation.

The deal signed with the Rwandan Information Technology Authority calls for KT to
establish a comprehensive nationwide communications network for Internet access
in 30 cities and along the country's border by the first half of 2011, the local
company said.
KT Corp. said last month that it launched a wireless Internet network for
government offices in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
KT won a US$7.66 million deal in 2007 from the Rwandan government to build the
infrastructure for the WiBro technology-based network in a bid to tap the African
market.
WiBro is a version of WiMax technology developed in South Korea, which allows
Internet access at broadband speed even when a user is in motion. WiMax, which
stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a leading next
generation mobile wireless technology.
KT also has on-going projects in Africa including a $38 million project it
undertook in Oct. 2008 to provide a nationwide network for Internet access in
Rwanda.
It also clinched a $29 million project to install a broadband wireless network in
Sidi Abdela, west of Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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