Dhiraagu signs Rf56 million mobile expansion project

MALE, Mar 15 (HNS) – Maldives telecoms company Dhiraagu signed a Rf56 million contract on Thursday with Alcatel to expand mobile phone service in Maldives. The contract is part of a Rf110 million package Dhiraagu is investing this year to expand mobile services, the company said in a press release. Under this contract, mobile phone coverage will be expanded to 16 new islands in seven atolls, extending mobile coverage from the current 54 percent to 73 percent of Maldives population by the end of the year. The contract also includes enhancements to the mobile exchange and base stations to further improve the quality of service offered to customers, and to meet the forecast demand during the year, Dhiraagu said. "Our policy is to invest strategically to extend and enhance (mobile) coverage across the country while at the same time providing our customers with a high quality, reliable and affordable service," Dhiraagu CEO Ismail Waheed was quoted as saying. "This project alone will provide the benefit of mobile coverage to an additional 19 percent of the population, thereby increasing coverage to nearly three quarters of the population." Dhiraagu said that "more details", including the identity of the islands to be covered this year and the expected service available dates, "will be communicated to customers over the coming weeks." Dhiraagu, the sole telecommunications company in Maldives, is a joint venture company between the Maldives government and Britain's Cable and Wireless PLC. ($=12.85)