Compania Nationala de Cai Ferate (National Railroad Company) "CFR" SA is planning to provide the first fixed international telephony services through its telecommunications subsidiary SC Telecomunicatii CFR SA as of next month, company officials told Ziarul Financiar.
These services will be available by prepaid cards in about 100 railway stations at first, and the users will be able to make international phone calls from any public phone installed by CFR in these locations.
CFR will also set up Internet CafAé-type centres in these stations as of this March to be used by the passengers in transit and by the people living nearby.
What is CNCFR SA's strategy for the telecommunications market?
"We are in talks with 15 specialised operators and planning to set up several joint ventures controlled by CNCFR. For instance, if there is a powerful operator in the Constanta area, we may team up with them and also join forces with another company for the Cluj area," Mihai Necolaiciuc, CNCFR SA general manager told Ziarul Financiar.
Necolaiciuc added "the tariffs of the services we will provide will be worth no more than 50% of RomTelecom's current tariffs."
Once the fixed telephony market deregulated, CFR is planning to retain its subscribers in the railway sector but also attract new ones from the Public Works, Transports and Housing Ministry, the National Defence Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Public Finance Ministry, the public administration, banking networks, financial market operators, rural operators etc.
CNCFR SA has a 3,530-km fibre optics network and intends to expand it by another 1,000 km by late August. This investment programme that began in 1998 will amount to about $120 million.
Another national company set to enter the deregulated telecommunications market is electricity carrier Transelectrica. It will debut in telephony with a joint venture established by its telecommunications subsidiary Teletrans and a strategic investor in this field.
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