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1999 Annual Report
Accomplishments
Data Transmission, Fixed and Mobile Telephony
National Transmission Links
The year 1999 was one of accomplishment for the actual construction phase of the national transmission network.
Focusing on this strategic goal, the company executed the following essential projects in 1999:
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Executing excavation operations besides fitting, connecting and testing about
400km fiber optic cables. Thus, total working cables currently number 540km.
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Installing, testing & operating 52 SDH devices of different levels
(sub-STM-1, STM-1, STM-4).Installing digital distribution frames (DDF) in about 25 sites (switch/RSU).
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Operating a large
number of switches and RSUs through the utilization of the SDH over fiber technology
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Concluding a huge part of the backbone
network project and thus preparing for the disconnection from Israeli counterpart.
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Making available high bandwidth capacity on the Palestinian network sufficient
for many years ahead, including multi-utilization (voice, data, video).
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Preparing a unique qualified cadre capable of dealing with the various technical aspects of the company.
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The national backbone network constructed during 1999, makes the vision of total network independence from Israeli counterpart to be implemented in stages, more tangible.
The first stage towards comprehensive disconnection has been executed with national traffic being routed currently through transmission links. The second stage of the load,
sharing/protection, has been underway since the end of 1999.
Digital Microwave Network
Microwave-Interconnection between the West Bank & Gaza
This project is seen as the "backbone" for the Palestinian national independent telecommunications network. Its purpose is to interconnect the transmission links of the West Bank with the transmission links of the Gaza Region. This will ameliorate the need for traffic
between the West Bank and Gaza to run through the Israeli Telecommunication Company network.
With microwave interconnectivity projects executed and in actual service, all the main cities of the West Bank are interconnected together with the Gaza Region. These
projects are as follows:
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Hebron - Gaza link
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Expanding radio links of the cellular network.
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The Jordan Valley Area Project; work is proceeding on connecting the Jordan valley area (Jehricho) with Southern and Mid West Bank areas through another
project of which 50% is completed.
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Microwave interconnection; Sinjel - Ramallah.
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Ar-Ram Microwave project.
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Radio links in various areas upon securing telephony connectivity.
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Data Services
Expanded data transmission services is a component of PalTel's strategy. Commercial service is expected to be launched by the end of April 2000. At both national and
international levels, PalTel's data transmission service will roll out, offering Frame-Relay technology at first, followed shortly by the introduction of ATM services. At completion, all computer centers will be connected with new digital transmission networks. These offerings serve the vital needs of the Palestinian academic and other institutions.
Current Data Services Projects:
Digital Leased Lines
In preparation for the Palestinian information transmission project, digital leased-line circuits are currently deployed to multiple economic institutions for inter-branch and private network communications. A total of 325 leased circuits are currently serving 75 national institutions for monthly fees approved by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. A 100 percent completion record was accomplished for the
1999 plans as follows:
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All remote areas have been connected with the leased digital lines as part of the Paltel private network.
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Frame Relay service has been initiated and offered to the main cities throughout Palestine. This service will expand following the deployment of the multi-services network, expected to be placed in service by the end of May 2000.
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The network has been expanded to include extra numbers. By the end of 1999, there are about 325 leased lines compared with 123 at the end of 1998.
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Internet Project:
Installation of needed equipment for the backbone interconnectivity and construction of
an Internet site have been completed. Equipment has been installed and programmed.
Plans call for Internet services to be provided throughout Palestine by the beginning
of 2000 offering connectivity for all ISPs, institutions and companies.
Prepaid Cards
The program to supply prepaid cards continues at a rapid pace. Highlights include the following:
International Outgoing Calls From Palestine
The Iface Company through Startec Company has supplied the necessary equipment. A specialized technician from Iface has tested, operated, programmed and trained engineers from PalTel. A new system, the Intelligent Platform IN system, will be installed early in the year, according to both the Planning and Projects and the Operation and Maintenance Departments.
International incoming calls to Palestine
A contract has been signed with MCI Worldcom for this service to be provided through their platform. All necessary measures for the design and production of both kinds of cards (incoming and outgoing) have been accomplished.
Local Switch Projects
During 1999, seven main transit switches in addition to 15 new RSUs were installed, raising the number of working switches and RSUs to about 92 distributed as follows:
Main switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
RSUs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..57
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..92
Following is the increase in switches and RSUs during the last three years:
| Year |
Main Switches |
RSUs |
Total |
| Till the end of Dec. 31 1997 |
4 |
28 |
35 |
| Till the end of Dec. 31 1998 |
4 |
41 |
57 |
| Till the end of Dec. 31 1999 |
18 |
69 |
92 |
Increase in Switch Capacity in 1999
Due to operating new switches (Alcatel project) and completing the project of expanding operating switches (Nortel switch expansion) additional capacity has increased to about 82,220 telephone numbers during 1999, distributed as follows:
Region
Increase in Numbers
West Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54,828
Gaza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27,392
Total Palestine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82,220
Equipped capacity of the operating switches overall came to 314,221 telephone numbers by the end of December, 1999 distributed as follows:
Region
Served Lines
West Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225,536
Gaza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88,685
Palestine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314,221
Total Capacity of Main Switches and RSUs per Area
| Area |
Main Switches |
RSUs |
Total capacity |
| Jenin |
2 |
7 |
20,652 |
| Tulkarm |
2 |
4 |
15,030 |
| Qalqiliya |
1 |
23 |
7,616 |
| Nablus |
6 |
6 |
94,636 |
| Jehricho |
1 |
Null |
4,326 |
| Ramallah |
6 |
3 |
38,223 |
| Jerusalem |
5 |
9 |
23,843 |
| Bethlehem |
1 |
7 |
22,016 |
| Hebron |
5 |
5 |
44,194 |
| West Bank |
29 |
44 |
270,536 |
| Gaza City |
2 |
6 |
49,984 |
| Khan Younis |
1 |
2 |
12,048 |
| Rafah |
1 |
2 |
8,285 |
| Jabaliya |
1 |
1 |
8,640 |
| Deir El-Bala |
1 |
2 |
9,728 |
| Gaza |
6 |
13 |
88,685 |
| Palestine |
35 |
57 |
359,221 |
Total Equipped Capacity
In total, including completed and contracted projects, total switch capacity will raise to about 475,532 telephone numbers in the near term.
Outside Plant Projects(OSP)
PalTel has worked steadily at providing telephone lines through access loops needed to absorb the continuous expansion in switch capacity and the growing demand for
telephony services. The latest technologies are being deployed to meet this demand as follows:
Cable and Wire Local Loop
A total of 209 projects were executed for the purpose of expanding the OSP capacity to 164,121 lines in the West Bank and Gaza during 1999, as follows:
| Area |
Projects |
Capacity (lines) |
| Jenin |
43 |
22,100 |
| Tulkarm |
14 |
11,000 |
| Qalqiliya |
6 |
1,800 |
| Nablus |
20 |
12,280 |
| Ramallah |
34 |
13,180 |
| Jerusalem |
10 |
3,900 |
| Bethlehem |
18 |
20,940 |
| Hebron |
21 |
21,140 |
| West Bank |
166 |
106,340 |
| Gaza City |
14 |
28,971 |
| Northern Areas |
10 |
4,500 |
| Mid Areas |
5 |
6.780 |
| Khan Younis |
6 |
12,430 |
| Rafah |
8 |
5,100 |
| Gaza |
43 |
57,781 |
| Palestine |
209 |
164,121 |
Additional capacity in outside plant projects during the past three years is as follows:
West Bank Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256,356
Gaza Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116,797
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373,153
Total excavations during 1999 reached about 124.5km (117km in the West Bank and 7.5km in Gaza).
Wireless Local Loops Installed
These systems provide the best economic and technical solutions by providing wireless telephone lines to customers without the need to lay cables. A total of 6,992 loops have been installed in the West Bank and Gaza distributed as follows:
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Region | Lines | Served Sites |
| West Bank | 5176 | 76 |
| Gaza | 1816 | 25 |
| Total | 6992 | 101 |
Total capacity increase in the OSP projects amounted to 436,635 lines during the past three years, due to the utilization of the pair gain and concentrators; distributed
as follows:
| Communication Technology
| Lines |
| Wire Loop | 373,153 |
| pair Gain | 36,490 |
| Concentrators | 20,000 |
| Wireless Local Loop | 6,992 |
| Total | 436,635 |
Recognition of the New Palestinian Telephone Gateway 970
Palestine received its 970 independent telephone code from the International Telecommunications Union in 1999. Until recently, all telephone calls to Palestine had to go through the Israeli code 972. Currently, 33 countries are utilizing the
new Palestinian international code 970 as follows:
Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada (Teleglope), China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland-Sonerra, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait,
Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UK (CWC), USA (MCI),and Yemen.
Work is in progress to sign further mutual agreements with other countries to recognize the 970 telephone code.
Palestine Cellular Phone (Jawwal)
Paltel has been granted a license from the Palestinian National Authority to operate, maintain and manage the telecom sector in Palestine. This license covers both voice
and non-voice, fixed and cellular networks.
The company has initiated GSM cellular services by offering the latest GSM technology. GSM technology was chosen by PalTel because it is the most widely accepted, fully digital, wireless technology available in the world today. The
Ericsson GSM system exceeds current industry standards and provides unique state-of-the-art services compared to other technologies.
In 1996, Jawwal brand name was chosen for the PalTel GSM service. The Company was established as the first GSM operator in Palestine. The system was fully constructed in six months. Commercial service commenced on August 15, 1999 in Gaza, and October 2, 1999 in the West Bank. Two mobile switching centers (SMC's) have already been constructed, the first in Ramallah City and the second in
Gaza City. Both were inaugurated and became operational on June 21, 1999. Currently, the number of installed base stations in the West Bank and Gaza is 102. The initial capacity of this project amounts to about 70,000 numbers, expandable to 120,000. Within the next year there will be 90% indoor and 95% outdoor network coverage.
The Palestinian cellular network is equipped with market oriented value-added services which enable Jawwal customers to enjoy a modern, handy and flexible network.
Some of these services are roaming, speech security, clear messaging, short messaging services (SMS), voice mail, fax/data service, call transfer and connected line identification numbers. The project provides an appropriate technical and commercial alternative for the Israeli service providers.
Activating Roaming Agreements
Jawwal Company has international agreements concurrent with local ones, since the company is dedicated to offering roaming services in other countries. For example, Jawwal Company has finalized the technical issues related to operating the Palestinian Jawwal with Partner (Orange) operator in Israel, enabling Palestinian subscribers to use their mobile phones inside Israel.
Besides Israel (Orange), further international roaming agreements have been signed with over 80 countries, and are activated in 24, with further activation initiatives underway.
The countries Jawwal has roaming agreements with are:
Switzerland (Swisscom), Jordan (Fast Link), UK (Vodaphone), Turkey (Telsim, Turkel), Greece (Panaphone), Australia (One), Norway (Netcom G.S.M.), Hong Kong (Hutchsson), France (France telecom),Poland (Centertel), Belgium (Belgacom Mobile), Israel (Orange), Germany (E-Plus), Taiwan (Chunghwa Telecom), Sweden (Europolitan), Spain (Telefonica Moviles), Finland (Radiolinja), Czech Republic
(Radio Mobile), Russia (Mobile Telesystems), Hong Kong (Cable & Wireless), Morocco (IAM), Egypt (MobiNil), Hong Kong (Sunday), and Italy (Wind).
Jawwal's long term objectives are focused on being number one in the region in terms of regulation, service, quality, customer satisfaction and coverage. Our market research shows that over the next 10 years there will be about 370,000 cellular users in Palestine. However, one of the obstacles to achieving this goal will be the availability of the required frequency spectrum. PalTel has been forced to use
additional base stations to meet the coverage and capacity imposed by the Israelis.
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