The Afghan telecommunication network is also planned to be connected to Iran and Pakistan in the near future.

Earlier, the authorities of the Communications and Information Technology Ministry [MoCIT] of Afghanistan signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to launch the project via Sher Khan, river port serving northern Konduz Province.

Work on the fibre optic network of Afghanistan started two years. The MoCIT says the fibre optic network will be able to connect all the provinces, districts and even villages of the country to each other.

Eng Barialai Hosam, the technical deputy of the MoCIT, attend the opening ceremony in Hayratan border town, saying that the fibre optic network would provide best quality and low cost communications in Afghanistan. Besides, it can serve as bridge between the Central Asian countries and the Middle East, adding that it was important for Afghanistan to connect its fibre optic network to Uzbekistan.

Eng Barialai Hosam, the technical deputy of the MoCIT, said Afghanistan will be linked to Europe and Asia by connecting its fibre optic network with Uzbekistan telecommunication service. This telecommunication project is very important for the people of Afghanistan.

According to Mr Hosam, some US$70 million have been estimated for the completion of work on the entire network. The fibre optic network project between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan was supposed complete within 20 months but because of the deteriorating security situation work on the project was affected. It is planned that work on this project will complete by the end of the current year.

Apparently, with the activation of the fibre optic network the price of accessing internet services will decrease by 80%.

It pertinent to mention that Afghanistan has already been connected to Tajikistan via the fibre optic network.

Currently, there are five other telecommunication companies operating in Afghanistan which also provide some internet services.