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Alameda-based UTStarcom (News - Alert) Inc. has signed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract with Bell & Tell Pvt. Ltd to provide bundled voice and data services in Pakistan using UTStarcom's Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GEPON) and VoIP technologies.

UTStarcom's local reseller, Maxim Telecom, will help with the deployment of the network.

Bell & Tell hopes to surpass 100,000 subscribers in Pakistan over the next two to three years, as the telecom industry there experiences deregulation.

UTStarcom's deployment will be in two phases: firstly, the company will set up the network and will then expand it to additional regions in the country.

UTStarcom already has considerable network deployments in China, Japan, India, and elsewhere.

"Due to the changing telecom climate in Pakistan, Bell & Tell plans to aggressively deploy new voice and data network technologies in the coming months, with plans to exceed 100,000 subscribers in the next two to three years," said Shafqat Iqbal, CEO of Bell & Tell, in a statement.

The current Pakistani telecom market is facing deregulation, and the area is experiencing consistent annual growth in telecommunications usage. The combined teledensity in the regions fixed, mobile and wireless local loop is currently 45 percent, a significant 62 percent increase over last year's teledensity figures.

Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more Bhat’s articles, please visit his TMCnet columnist page.