USTDA TO SUPPORT WROCLAW TELECOM NETWORK IN POLAND

MEDIA ADVISORY

WROCLAW (June 28, 2004) – The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announces plans to award a $429,098 grant to Miejskie Przedsiebiorstwo Energetyki Cielplnej Wroclaw SA (MPEC Wroclaw), to partially fund a feasibility study on the proposed expansion of a metropolitan area network in Wroclaw, Poland.  Since 1991, USTDA has provided more than $25 million in grant funding to support feasibility studies and technical assistance on a number of projects.  This grant is an example of the agency’s commitment to assist Poland in the development and liberalization of its telecommunications market.   

The grant will be conferred in a signing ceremony on July 1, 2004, at 5:00 p.m.  The event will take place at Wroclaw City Hall.  The Honorable Christopher R. Hill, U.S. Ambassador to Poland, will sign the grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government.  Mr. Marek Rakowicz, President, will sign on behalf of MPEC Wroclaw.  The Honorable Rafal Dutkiewicz, Mayor of Wroclaw, and Mr. Ned Cabot, USTDA Regional Director for Europe, will also be in attendance.

Although MPEC Wroclaw is primarily a district heating company, it currently serves 4,200 households in Wroclaw with a wide range of telecommunications services through its fiber-optic network.  The proposed project would extend this network to the entire metropolitan area of Wroclaw and would introduce selected broadband services.  By encouraging competition with the dominant fixed-line operator, the project will assist Poland in needed telecommunications market liberalization.

The USTDA grant will fund an in-depth, multi-disciplinary feasibility study to determine the technical, economic and commercial viability of the coverage expansion and the additional product offering.  In particular, the study will determine whether the current fiber-optic infrastructure could be complemented by wireless technology.  In addition to the funding from the USTDA grant, MPEC Wroclaw will provide a significant contribution toward the study in the form of labor and materials.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries.  The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.  USTDA’s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development.  In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.

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