| Industry | Telecomunications |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Ramallah, West Bank |
| Area served | Palestinian territories |
| Products | Fixed, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, SMS, MMS, ISP |
| Employees | 3,000 |
| Parent | Paltel |
| Subsidiaries | Paltel fixed line, Jawwal, Hadara, PalMedia, Reach, Hulul |
| Website | http://www.paltelgroup.ps |
Paltel Group or Palestinian Telecommunication Group[1] (Arabic: مجموعه الاتصالات الفلسطينيه) is the largest private-sector company in the Palestinian territories, employing almost 2,000 people.[2] Its subsidiaries include the landline network Paltel,[3] which was in service in 1994, cellular network communications provider Jawwal,[4] and internet services provider Hadara.[5]
Paltel Group makes up 29% of the Palestinian Authority's gross national product and accounts for 50% of the worth of the Palestine Securities Exchange.
In 1995, when Yasser Arafat set up the Palestine Telecommunications Co, only 3% of Palestinians owned a telephone;[6] applicants would have to wait years for a connection by Bezeq, the Israeli state-owned provider.[7] The initial three year plan was to invest $600m in the West Bank and Gaza in order to increase customers from 85,000 to 250,000.[8] An agreement was reached in 1997 to acquire knowhow from Cable and Wireless,[9] and in 1998 Ericsson won the contract to supply a GSM cellular network.[10] That year Arafat called on mobile users to switch to Paltel which would soon become the sole providers for the two regions.[11]
The mobile operator of PaltelGroup, Jawwal, with its 2 million subscribers,[12][13] has stopped a merger operation with Zain,[14] but still will join the One Network project in the year 2010.
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