TELEFONICA OF SPAIN INVESTING IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

http://www3.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=21540

(Summary).

June 24th, 2008.

Company Telefónica of Spain is going to settle in the country.

SANTO DOMINGO. Telefónica of Spain will be established in the country with large investments that include not only a wide-bandwidth communication network via submarine cables, but it will also offer telephone service.

The information was given yesterday to Diario Libre by José Rafael Vargas, chairman of Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (Dominican Institute of Telecommunications) (Indotel), who said that it is possible that Telefónica may "have an important negotiation with a company located here."

Telefónica of Spain was born in 1924, and after a career of 84 years, it has become the largest integrated operator in the world by number of accesses of customers, with 228 millions.

The multinational operates in 24 countries, which includes more than 12 in Latin America. It has a workforce of 248,000 employees, and the net profits reached 1,538 million euros in the first quarter of this year, representing a 22.4% growth.

Achievements:

Vargas, being interviewed about the ten years of telecommunications in the country, said that the Dominican Republic is one of the best serviced countries in the field of electronic communications and with greater capacity of bandwidth compared with Latin America countries such as Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

He gave as an example that the teledensity in the country reaches 70 in every hundred inhabitants, and a large part of the wireless and digital teledensity, with more than 90 percent of digital cellular phones, which represents a remarkable event in Latin America.

"A country that has over six millions of phones with a population of nearly nine millions of inhabitants; this is an achievement without any doubt," said Vargas.

"We are reaching around 20% of the Internet, some two millions of users, going from 8% in 2002 to nearly 20 percent. Out of 200 thousand users to nearly two millions, and the goal is to have 40% in 15 to 20 months, and to reach three millions of Internet users”, he said.

He remarked that this Government is ending this governing period with 938 digital centers of knowledge, virtual libraries, Internet centers and computer training centers.

He said that this is a step forward that any country in Latin America has. Only Brazil has a level of access as the Dominican Republic has, with 32 provinces and each one of them has more than 15 digital centers, and there are some provinces like San Cristóbal that has 36, in Santo Domingo there are over 70, in Distrito Nacional (National District) there are more than 200 digital centers .

Free competition:

The chairman of Indotel, José Rafael Vargas, warned yesterday that although the ten years of implementing Law No. 153-98 have strengthened the telecommunications in the country, there are still "concerns about many things," such as tariff, service quality and "to keep at all costs the free competition" in the sector.

Vargas explained his approach at the opening ceremony of the seminar "10 Years of Law 153-98. Challenges of the Telecommunication Regulation", which is taking place in Lounge Caonabo of Hotel Santo Domingo, in this capital city.

By José Javier.