From januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de Fri Nov 5 17:20:23 1999 From: januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Mali) Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 23:20:23 +0100 Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! Message-ID: <38235827.A56988DF@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> Ju pershendes, para disa ditesh, ne mjetet e informimit (s'me kujtohet se ku) u njoftua se Beogradi kishte hedhur poshte nje kerkese te UNMIK-ut ne lidhje me prefiksin telefonik per Kosoven, me arsyetimin se Kosova nuk na qenka shtet sovran. U tha pastaj se do te behet kerkese prane Unionit Nderkombetar te Telekomunikationit (International Telecommunication Union - ITU), qe Kosova te marre prefiksin e vet nderkombetar. A ka dikush informata me te hollesishme, se si do te mbetet qeshtja e prefiksit telefonik per Kosoven apo per kete ndoshta do te vendoset ne nje te ardhme te afert? Po ashtu, a ka gjasa qe Kosova te ket kodin e vet per domen ne internet (p.sh. *.KS, PRISHTINA.KS, PTK.KS, etj.). Pra, a ka gjasa qe Kosova te regjistrohet ne listen sipas ISO 3166-1? Nuk e dij se sa eshte e lidhur kjo me qeshtjen e te qenit shtet sovran per ata qe deshirojne te regjistrohen ne kete liste. Nje rast paraqet p.sh. Timori Lindor, i cili nuk ishte shtet sovran por, kishte kodin e vet *.TP. Rast interesant prej 01 Tetorit 1999 paraqesin edhe Territoret e Okupuara Palestineze(Occupied Palestinian Territory- *.PS, ne ISO ALPHA-3 = PSE). Mendoj se edhe ketu ITU eshte instanca, e cila mund te vendose per keso qeshtjesh - si nje nga 10 antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency. Sa i perket Telekomit dhe Internet-it ne Kosove, ndoshta nuk do te kishte qene e tepert qe here pas here te publikoheshin edhe ketu ne liste raporte lidhur me shkallen e deritanishme te realizimit te projekteve te synuara per t'u realizuar. Nuk po mendoj ne 'fshehtesite' e ndermarrjes se PTK-se por, ne ato raportet, te cilat mund te jene trasparente per te gjithe. Apo ndoshta PTK-ja ka ndonje adrese interneti (URL), ku mund te lexohet me shume ne kete drejtim ? Mbetshi me te mira, Eshrefi -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Eshref Januzaj ** Munich University of Technology ** | | ** Department of Computer Science ** | | ** Arcisstr.21, Munich - Germany ** | | | | E-Mail : januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de | | WWW : http://www.in.tum.de/~januzaj/ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ From Ismet at itu.or.th Sun Nov 7 23:19:47 1999 From: Ismet at itu.or.th (Ismet Hamiti) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 11:19:47 +0700 Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! Message-ID: <21E9FACBBBFED011BF1000805FAA34260A1912@pro01.itu.or.th> Jungjatjeta, Ne kuader te PTK-se jane ne realizim e siper tri projekte kryesore (krahas rimekembjes organizative te vet PTK-se qe eshte nje pune shume e veshtire). Keto Jane: 1. Projekti i rrjetit fiks Ky projekt perfshine ndertimin e pjeseve te rrjetit qe jane shkatrruar gjate bombardimeve dhe ato per lidhje nserkombetare. Specifikimet teknike dhe dokumenti i tenderit ka kohe qe eshte pregaditur dhe vetem pritet pelqimi i UNMIK-ut per t'u shpallur. Ky projekt pritet te financohet nga Bashkimi Europian. Pelqimi nga UNMIK-u dhe aprovimi i fondeve nga BU po vonohet. Prandaj PTK ka filluar ndertimin e nje rrjeti radio-rele, me fondet e veta, qe do te mundesoje rivendosjen e lidhjeve ndermjet qendrave kryesore te Kosoves. Instalimi ka filluar dhe pritet te perfundoje para fundit te vitit. 2. Projekti i rrjetit mobil Ky projekt parasheh ndertimin e nje rrjeti mobil GSM ne tere Kosoven, qe do te quhet VALA900 (a po ju pelqen emri?). Specifikacionet teknike jane pregaditur, tenderi eshte shpallur, ofertat jane analizuar dhe keto dite pritet shpallja e firmes fituese. Projekti do te financohet ne tersi me kredi komerciale, pra nga PTK-ja. Fillimisht PTK-ja ka pase planifikuar qe faza e pare, mbulimi i 7 qendrave kryesore te Kosoves, te perfundoje ne dhjetor. Per shkak te vonesave procedurale nga UNMIKU ky afat mund te shtyhet per nje a dy muaj. 3. Rjeti i Internetit Ky projekt parasheh ndertimin e nje ISP -je mbrenda PTK-se qe do te ofronte sherbime te internetit ne mbare Kosoven. Specifikimet teknike dhe dokumentacioni i tenderit jan ne perfundim e siper. Pritet te filloje realizimi para fundit te vitit. Ne projektet e permendura kane punuar e punojne kolege tane nga te gjitha viset shqiptare dhe nga diaspora. Sa i perket kodit per akces nderkombetar dhe emrit te domenit kryesor keto jane pune te UNMIK-ut. Pritet qe te intenzifikohet puna ne kete drejtim, pasi qe edhe venja ne funksionim te projekteve te pershkruara me larte varen nga zgjedhje e tyre. Ndonje zgjedhje patjeter do te gjendet. Ngadal po shkon, por pa fajin e PTK-se. Deri tani PTK nuk ka marre asnje mbeshtetje materjale nga sakush, por koleget tane ne PTK jane duke bere pune te medha me ato pak mjete qe kane mundur t'i mpledhin nga konsumatoret e sherbimeve telefonike, kryesisht ne Prishtine. PTK ende nuk ka ndonje faqe ne internet. Do t'a krijoje ate sa po t'i krijoje kushtet per mirembajtejen e saj. Me shume respekt, Ismet Hamiti > -----Original Message----- > From: Mali [SMTP:januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de] > Sent: 06 November 1999 05:20 > To: info-tech at alb-net.com; asum-list at onelist.com > Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! > > ********** Information Technology Forum ********* > Archives: http://alb-net.com/pipermail/info-tech/ > > Ju pershendes, > > para disa ditesh, ne mjetet e informimit (s'me kujtohet se ku) u > njoftua > se Beogradi kishte hedhur poshte nje kerkese te UNMIK-ut ne lidhje me > prefiksin telefonik per Kosoven, me arsyetimin se Kosova nuk na qenka > shtet sovran. > > U tha pastaj se do te behet kerkese prane Unionit Nderkombetar > te Telekomunikationit (International Telecommunication Union - ITU), > qe Kosova te marre prefiksin e vet nderkombetar. > > A ka dikush informata me te hollesishme, se si do te mbetet qeshtja > e prefiksit telefonik per Kosoven apo per kete ndoshta do te vendoset > ne nje te ardhme te afert? > > Po ashtu, a ka gjasa qe Kosova te ket kodin e vet per domen ne > internet > (p.sh. *.KS, PRISHTINA.KS, PTK.KS, etj.). Pra, a ka gjasa qe Kosova > te regjistrohet ne listen sipas ISO 3166-1? Nuk e dij se sa eshte e > lidhur kjo me qeshtjen e te qenit shtet sovran per ata qe deshirojne > te regjistrohen ne kete liste. Nje rast paraqet p.sh. Timori Lindor, > i cili nuk ishte shtet sovran por, kishte kodin e vet *.TP. > Rast interesant prej 01 Tetorit 1999 paraqesin edhe Territoret e > Okupuara > Palestineze(Occupied Palestinian Territory- *.PS, ne ISO ALPHA-3 = > PSE). > > Mendoj se edhe ketu ITU eshte instanca, e cila mund te vendose per > keso qeshtjesh - si nje nga 10 antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency. > > Sa i perket Telekomit dhe Internet-it ne Kosove, ndoshta nuk do te > kishte qene e tepert qe here pas here te publikoheshin edhe ketu ne > liste raporte lidhur me shkallen e deritanishme te realizimit te > projekteve te synuara per t'u realizuar. Nuk po mendoj ne > 'fshehtesite' > e ndermarrjes se PTK-se por, ne ato raportet, te cilat mund te jene > trasparente per te gjithe. > > Apo ndoshta PTK-ja ka ndonje adrese interneti (URL), ku mund te > lexohet me shume ne kete drejtim ? > > > > Mbetshi me te mira, > Eshrefi > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > | Eshref Januzaj ** Munich University of Technology ** | > | ** Department of Computer Science ** | > | ** Arcisstr.21, Munich - Germany ** | > | | > | E-Mail : januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de | > | WWW : http://www.in.tum.de/~januzaj/ | > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Info-Tech mailing list: Info-Tech at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/info-tech From besnik at alb-net.com Mon Nov 8 01:01:54 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 01:01:54 -0500 Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! In-Reply-To: <38235827.A56988DF@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> Message-ID: At 11:20 PM +0100 11/5/99, Mali wrote: >Po ashtu, a ka gjasa qe Kosova te ket kodin e vet per domen ne internet >(p.sh. *.KS, PRISHTINA.KS, PTK.KS, etj.). Pra, a ka gjasa qe Kosova >te regjistrohet ne listen sipas ISO 3166-1? Nuk e dij se sa eshte e >lidhur kjo me qeshtjen e te qenit shtet sovran per ata qe deshirojne >te regjistrohen ne kete liste. Nje rast paraqet p.sh. Timori Lindor, >i cili nuk ishte shtet sovran por, kishte kodin e vet *.TP. >Rast interesant prej 01 Tetorit 1999 paraqesin edhe Territoret e >Okupuara >Palestineze(Occupied Palestinian Territory- *.PS, ne ISO ALPHA-3 = PSE). > >Mendoj se edhe ketu ITU eshte instanca, e cila mund te vendose per >keso qeshtjesh - si nje nga 10 antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency. Ne gusht te ketij viti, me ndihmen e Minstrise per Informim te QPK-se, u organizua nje takim qe do ta quaja gjysme-formal, midis disa profesionistesh kompjuterike nga Prishtina, ku isha prezent edhe une, ku u diskutua ceshtja e domenit te Kosoves. Te gjithe u pajtuan se ekziston nevoja per regjistrimin e nje domeni te ketille, si nga aspekti ligjor, per shkak te mevetesise se Kosoves nga RFJ, por edhe nga ai teknik, meqe eshte veshtiresuar shumefish mundesia qe Kosova te lidhet ne Internet permes Beogradit dhe eshte krijuar nevoja per lidhje direkte te Kosoves ne Internet. Me ndihmen e z. Hamiti, une dhe ai arritem qe letren e kerkeses dhe materialet tjera perkatese t'ia dorezojme pergjegjesit te UNMIK-ut per telekomunikime (emri i te cilit nuk me kujtohet ne kete moment), i cili tha se kerkesen do t'ia dergoje zyrtarisht, ne emer te UNMIK-ut, ISO 3166 MA. Pas kesaj nuk di se si ka vajtur puna me kerkesen. Rrethanat dhe obligimet tjera nuk me lejuan qe t'i kushtoj kohe te duhur percjelljes se kesaj pune derisa isha ne Prishtine. Nuk di nese pergjegjesi i UNMIK-ut e ka derguar kete kerkese apo mos eshte bllokuar dikund ne procedurat burokratike te UNMIK-ut. -Besniku From mentor at alb-net.com Mon Nov 8 10:44:25 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 10:44:25 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! In-Reply-To: <38235827.A56988DF@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> Message-ID: On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, at 23:20, Mali wrote: > Po ashtu, a ka gjasa qe Kosova te ket kodin e vet per domen ne internet > (p.sh. *.KS, PRISHTINA.KS, PTK.KS, etj.). Pra, a ka gjasa qe Kosova > te regjistrohet ne listen sipas ISO 3166-1? Nuk e dij se sa eshte e > lidhur kjo me qeshtjen e te qenit shtet sovran per ata qe deshirojne > te regjistrohen ne kete liste. Nje rast paraqet p.sh. Timori Lindor, > i cili nuk ishte shtet sovran por, kishte kodin e vet *.TP. > Rast interesant prej 01 Tetorit 1999 paraqesin edhe Territoret e > Okupuara > Palestineze(Occupied Palestinian Territory- *.PS, ne ISO ALPHA-3 = PSE). Pra, kjo do te thote qe edhe Kosoves duhet t'i jipet mundesia. > Mendoj se edhe ketu ITU eshte instanca, e cila mund te vendose per > keso qeshtjesh - si nje nga 10 antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency. Por, kush do ta beje nje kerkese te tille ne emer te Kosoves? Qeveria e Bukoshit ose ajo e Thacit? Ose, UNMIK-u? te fala, Mentori From januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de Mon Nov 8 12:58:55 1999 From: januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Mali) Date: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 18:58:55 +0100 Subject: [Info-tech] PTK : Prefiksi telefonik dhe Intenet-i!! References: Message-ID: <38270F5F.C02B26D7@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> Ju pershendes, Mentor Cana schrieb: > On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, at 23:20, Mali wrote: > > (...) > > Rast interesant prej 01 Tetorit 1999 paraqesin edhe Territoret e > > Okupuara Palestineze(Occupied Palestinian Territory- *.PS, > > ne ISO ALPHA-3 = PSE). > > Pra, kjo do te thote qe edhe Kosoves duhet t'i jipet mundesia. sipas edhe disa rasteve te tjera, te cilet jane te regjistruara ne ISO 3166-1, del qe edhe Kosova do te mund te futej ne kete liste! > > Mendoj se edhe ketu ITU eshte instanca, e cila mund te vendose per > > keso qeshtjesh - si nje nga 10 antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency. > > Por, kush do ta beje nje kerkese te tille ne emer te Kosoves? > > Qeveria e Bukoshit ose ajo e Thacit? > > Ose, UNMIK-u? Momentalisht, UNMIK-u eshte instanca e vetme, e cila do te mund te paraqes kerkesen prane ISO 3166/MA per futjen e Kosoves ne listen ISO 3166-1. Sipas rregullores se ISO 3166/MA, te drejt per paraqitje te kerkeses kan vetem qeverite e atij vendi, per te cilin parashtrohet kerkesa. Zyrtarisht, qeverine ne Kosove e ka UNMIK-u (nderkobetarisht te pranuar). Kerkesa te tjera nuk do te shqyrtohen fare. Vendi, i cili deshiron te regjistrohet ne listen sipas ISO 3166-1, duhet te gjendet edhe ne listen e "Emrave te Vendeve" te OKB-se (UN Bulletin "Country Names"). Perjashtime behet ne rast se plotesohet njera prej kushteve te shenuara me poshte (anglisht) : I. The area name for which the inclusion in ISO 3166-1 is requested represents an area which is physically separated from its parent country. Dependent areas directly bordering on the parent country cannot be included in ISO 3166-1. II. An interchange requirement exists betweeen the area for which a code element is requested and other physical locations. For the purposes of ISO 3166-1 the term interchange requirement includes a stated and proven necessity to move physical objects (e.g. goods) or non-physical objects (e.g. electronic messages) from one physical location to another. III.A request for the inclusion of a country name (or the name of a dependent area) in ISO 3166-1 must originate from the national government of the country or from the national standards body of that country. The ISO 3166/MA rejects any request which is not accompanied by a written statement from the national goverment explicitly agreeing to and supporting the request. Edhe nese plotesohen te gjitha keto kushte, te cilat i shenova me larte, prap mbetet te vendose vota e te 10 antareve te ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, se a do te behet regjistrimi ne listen ISO 3166-1, apo jo! Edhe pse ne shiqim te pare, per Kosoven duket pak si e paarritshme nje regjistrim ne listen ne fjale, mendoj se me nje presion te vazhdueshem ndaj UNMIK-ut por, te logjikshem dhe te mireargumentuar ("Ngreh e mos keput!"), do te mund te arrihet dicka ne kete drejtim. Po ashtu, nuk dihet se si kosiderohet Kosova : si pjese integrale e Jugosllavise, e administruar perkohesisht nga OKB (afer realitetit), apo mund te futet ne ndonje kategori tjeter. Nese Kosova llogaritet si pjese perkohesisht e 'ndare ne menyre fizike nga shtetit ame' (ne kete rast Jugosllavia) per sa i perket lidhjeve telefonike (pos rrjetit fiberoptike, i cili prej Nishit kalon nentoke deri ne Prishtine - nese nuk gabohem, prone e "Braca Kariq" nga Peja), dhe nese ne te ardhmen me te vertete realizohet lidhja e Kosoves ne rrjetin nderkombetar telefonik permes Shqiperise apo Maqedonise - rrjeti fiks, atehere mendoj se Kosova do te mund te thirrej te pakten ne piken I. te shenuar me larte. Mirepo, esenciale do te ishte argumentimi i INMIK-ut para ISO 3166/MA, si Qeveri e Kosoves! Fundja, OKB ne ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency ka dy vende, qe d.m.th. dy vota. :-) Antaret e ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency jane : - AFNOR (France) - ANSI (United States) - BSI (United Kingdom) - DIN (Germany) - SIS (Sweden) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - Universal Postal Union (UPU) - Statistics Department of the United Nations in New York - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) / United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Nuk e dij se cili nga antaret e lartepermendur do te kishte interes te bllokonte regjistrimin e Kosoves ne listen ISO 3166-1. Ndoshta Franca, per shkak te lehtesirave ne investime permes Beogradit, pastaj. Ndoshta nuk do te kishte qene e gabuar te vihen kontakte te drejtperdrejta me te gjithe antaret e ISO 3166/MA, te cilat jane te shenuar me larte, qe te kerkohet prej tyre perkrahje per sa i perket domenit per Kosoven. Pos ne International Telecommunication Union (ITU), se aty veq kemi njeriun tone - z. Hamitin. ;-) Mbetshi me te mira, Eshrefi -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Eshref Januzaj ** Munich University of Technology ** | | ** Department of Computer Science ** | | ** Arcisstr.21, Munich - Germany ** | | | | E-Mail : januzaj at informatik.tu-muenchen.de | | WWW : http://www.in.tum.de/~januzaj/ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Nov 17 11:25:54 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 11:25:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Info-tech] PRESS: ILLYRIA-Albania for $ale: With a Little Help from Her 'Friends' (fwd) Message-ID: Albania for $ale: With a Little Help from Her 'Friends' (Giving someone the benefit of the doubt simply means to let Albania be New World's guinea pig) by Gary Q. Kokalari Last February, virtually lost in the media attention over the Kosova crisis, a ceremony was held at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. Commerce Secretary William Daley looked on while then Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko and Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, the president of a Chicago-based company known as New World Telecom, signed an agreement to establish a joint venture between New World and Albtelecom, Albania's state-owned telecommunications firm. The objective of this deal was to establish an exclusive joint venture for the development of a $300 million wireless telecommunication system in the Republic of Albania. The press releases were quite impressive - "U.S. telecom company to invest $300 million dollars in Albania." My first reaction was, "who is New World Telecom?" But at that time, like most Albanians, I was preoccupied with the Kosova conflict, so New World faded from my radar screen. Fortunately, the Serb genocide machine was driven from Kosova, and at least here in the United States life returned to some semblance of normality. In August, after again reading on the news wires about New World Telecom in Albania, I decided to revisit this situation to find out who New World Telecom is and what this company is up to in Albania. So, I started to conduct research through normal channels - Wall Street research resources, news archives, Dun & Bradstreet, etc. What I found is that virtually no information about New World exists in the public domain. This seemed somewhat peculiar since this was a company that claims to have developed telecommunication systems around the world and has represented that it plans to invest $300 million in the development of a telecommunication system in Albania. After I had commenced my investigation, I discovered that several other Albanians were also questioning New World's activities in Albania. One was Ismet Hamiti, an Albanian from Kosova who has thirty years of experience as a telecommunications professional. Mr. Hamiti is based in Thailand where he is the regional representative for the International Telecom Union. For twelve years he was head of the development and design department of Kosova PTT, and he is presently advising Kosova PTT in its efforts to rebuild the telephone system in Kosova. The other individual is Agron Alibali, an attorney from Albania who is now based in Boston. Together, we assembled what to us seemed a very disturbing picture about New World Telecom. Because this deal was being driven by the Commerce Department, which was the most aggressive promoter of New World Telecom, I contacted Commerce Department officials to discuss this matter. With the lobbying assistance of the State Department and the American Embassy in Tirana, I learned that the Commerce Department exerted enormous pressure on the Albanian government to select New World Telecom as a partner for Albtelecom. With this support, New World pre-empted several major, highly qualified, well known international telecom companies that were keenly interested in developing business in Albania. Upon discussing this matter with officials at the Commerce and State Departments, it appeared to me that the U.S. government had not completed an adequate level of due diligence to determine the capabilities of New World Telecom. Nor could the Commerce Department provide me with any information to substantiate New World's ability to complete a project of the magnitude of the one proposed for Albania. The Commerce Department suggested that I speak with Dr. Kathuria to learn more about New World Telecom. I called Dr. Kathuria several times at what I was led to believe was New World's headquarters using the telephone number listed on their web site. Each time I called either Dr. Kathuria answered the telephone or I reached a voice mail. Perhaps it means nothing, but I found it odd that the president of what is purported to be a international telecommunications company would be answering the phone on the company's main number. Despite repeated requests, Dr. Kathuria has not provided me with any information to convince me that New World has the technical or financial ability to complete the proposed project. In quite grandiose terms he has described projects New World telecom is "working on", and projects that his "partners" have completed, but he has not been able to point to a single project anywhere that was successfully completed by New World that is comparable to the $300 million project he has proposed for Albania. In addition to contacting Dr. Kathuria, I wrote to President Rexhep Meidani, Secretary Daley and the State Department asking all of them to substantiate New World's track record. As of the time of this writing, they have not provided the information that would indicate that New World has either the technical capability or the financial resources to develop a $300 million telecom system. It appears that through associating New World with major companies, ones with which relationships may or may not exist, Dr. Kathuria has developed a level of credibility that has enabled him to have the U.S. and Albanian governments do his bidding. I have requested investigations of this matter by Senator McCain's and Senator Helm's offices as they have oversight responsibility for the Commerce and State Departments, respectively. As a result, Senator Helm's office forwarded information to me about New World Telecom. These documents, which consisted primarily of self-serving press releases, had been submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by the Commerce Department because of my inquiry. After reviewing this material I wrote to Secretary Daley as follows: "In my opinion, there was one thing missing from this promotional material ? evidence that New World Telecom has ever successfully completed the turn-key development of a telecommunication project anywhere in the world. If my interpretation is correct, then it appears that the Commerce Department, knowingly or unknowingly, influenced the government of Albania to entrust the development of its telecommunication system to, in the best case, a fledgling company. Mr. Secretary, I ask you, if you should decide to build a new home, will you hire a contractor who has never built a single house? Should the government of Albania be expected to entrust the development of a $300 million telecommunication system, a crucial link to the forward progress of the country's economy, to a company that has never done this before?" Not surprisingly, Secretary Daley has not responded. This is the same William Daley who is a member of the Daley family political machine of Chicago which, by coincidence, is also the home of New World Telecom. Yet, the Commerce Department and State Department are now placing enormous pressure on the Albanian government to grant New World Telecom a license to develop one of Albania's most strategic economic sectors. Quite frankly, something smells rotten in Tirana - and Washington. In September, Dr. Kathuria, U.S. Ambassador Limprecht and a Motorola "representative", presided over a press conference in Tirana for the signing of a "letter of intent" for Motorola to supply $50 million in telecom equipment for the Albanian government. One should not become overly impressed with this event because letters of intent are typically not worth the paper on which they are written, and it was obvious that the ceremony was staged for its public relations value rather than to commemorate a legally binding commitment on the part of Motorola. So I continued to press the Albanian and American government officials to provide me with rationale for promoting New World in Albania. To no avail, I requested a meeting with representatives of the Commerce and State Departments and New World Telecom to discuss this matter. I also requested meetings with President Meidani and Prime Minister Majko during their recent visits to the United States to discuss New World Telecom, but they were too busy. ...But I can appreciate their reticence to see me - it's quite obvious they didn't want to hear what I had to say. After repeatedly badgering the State Department to justify their support of New World Telecom, in October I received this e-mail message from a State Department official: "The interest we have (in the promotion of New World Telecom) is helping Albania to get a reliable supplier of telecommunications services that will provide the largest proportion of the population service in the shortest period of time. So here comes a company (New World Telecom) with a admittedly weak pedigree that appears willing and able to put such a system in place. They are backed, enthusiastically, by some impressive names in telecommunications, which is also an endorsement. On the question of ability, I think they ought to be given the benefit of the doubt and permitted to show what they can do." These comments are disturbing and highly contradictory. On the one hand, the U.S. is desirous of "helping Albania to get a reliable supplier of telecommunications services." On the other hand, a reference is made to New World as having "an admittedly weak pedigree." By so doing, the State Department official admits to supporting a company that does not appear to have any track record in the development of a comparable facility. The U.S. government official further stated that New World is "backed enthusiastically by some impressive names in telecommunications." One of the impressive names he refers to is Motorola, a well known and respected company. A recent article about New World in the Albanian newspaper 'Zeri i Popullit' also referred to New World as having the "backing" of Motorola. I thought this was all very interesting. So I contacted an in-house attorney at Motorola to discuss this matter. The Motorola attorney informed me that "a letter of intent with Motorola doesn't mean anything," and that "Motorola does not commit to supply equipment or financing based solely on a letter of intent." He also informed me that he is unaware of any legal agreement between Motorola and New World. With regard to any Motorola "backing" that New World may claim to have, the attorney offered to have any related document reviewed by their legal staff. The U.S. and Albanian governments have been notified of my findings. The U.S. government official also stated in his message, "on the question of their ability, I think they (New World) should be given the benefit of the doubt and permitted to show what they can do." In effect, what this individual is saying is let Albania be New World's guinea pig. This is particularly disturbing when one considers that major telecom companies, such as Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia, expressed serious interest in this project. As an American, as much as I would prefer for the project to be awarded to a qualified American company, my primary interest is to see a competent, reputable company develop Albania's telecom system To be sure, either the Commerce or State Department could have solicited a qualified U.S. telecom company to directly participate in the Albanian market. Secretary Daley could have easily contacted the chairmen of any number of American telecom companies, and I am highly confident one of them would have cooperated with him on the project in Albania. The action of the Commerce and State Departments in electing to instead force New World Telecom, a company with a "weak pedigree", down the throats of the Albanians is grossly irresponsible. What would be even more egregious is if Secretary Daley was in any way trying to tie Albania's WTO status to acceptance of the New World Telecom deal. In my opinion, this would be political extortion. So given that New World Telecom has not been able to provide concrete evidence that it has completed a comparable telecom project anywhere in the world, and given that the firm has not been able to prove that it has the financial ability to finance this project on its own, the glaring question remains: Why did the Commerce and State Departments use their high offices to promote New World Telecom in Albania? I recently wrote to World Bank president James Wolfensohn about New World Telecom, and received a letter in response. There appears to be a sharp difference of opinion between the World Bank's position on the privatization of Albania's telecom sector and that of the U.S. government. The letter states: "The World Bank has followed the Albanian government's plans for privatizing state owned enterprises in telecommunications with interest. We have conveyed our views to the government on various occasions over the last couple of years that both privatization and the issuing of licenses should be done on a competitive basis. Our experience from other transition economies shows clearly that only transparent and competitive procedures guarantee efficiency in the process and participation by reputable strategic investors with adequate experience. Such outcomes invariably encourage private sector activity and economic growth in the country concerned. Recently, we had discussions with the Albanian delegation to the World Bank's annual meetings and have reiterated the above views at the highest level, including Prime Minister Pandeli Majko." The statements from the World Bank raise several questions to which the State and Commerce Departments should respond. Was the selection of New World a transparent and competitive procedure? Should we view a company with no track record in developing a comparable telecom facility as a reputable strategic investor with adequate experience? I believe the answer to these questions is "no." But one thing is clear, the World Bank has far more experience in the development of telecom systems in "transition economies" than the State and Commerce Departments combined. In my opinion, the process by which New World Telecom has gained a foothold in Albania appears to be little more than a highly sophisticated, intricately spun web of deception with the Commerce and State Departments serving as either accomplices or dupes. During my investigation of the New World Telecom deal, I discovered that two other companies are engaged in business development in Albania. Crys-Tel Telecommunications Inc. claims to have acquired media assets in Albania and also claims to be developing telecommunications related businesses there as well. The Albanian government has also announced that it has granted concessions to Metals Research Group to develop Albania's copper resources. Supposedly, Metals Research will invest $75 million to develop these resources. As it turns out, Crys-Tel and Metals Research Group have several things in common. First, they are both traded on the Pinks Sheets. For those who are unfamiliar with the stock market, many companies that trade on the Pink Sheets have either been de-listed from major stock exchanges or are too thinly capitalized to trade on a major exchange. Although there are legitimate companies that trade in this manner, the Pink Sheets have been known to be the stalking grounds of many a stock manipulator. Interestingly, X-Stream Networks, an affiliate of New World Telecom, is also traded on the Pink Sheets. After completing additional research, I learned that Anthony Papalia Jr. is Vice President of Crys-Tel and that Robert Papalia is President of Metals Research Group. Robert Papalia is also listed as CEO and Anthony Papalia Sr., the father of Anthony Jr., is listed as President of yet another Pink Sheet listed company known as PAC Rim Information Systems. Upon further investigation I learned that Anthony Papalia Sr. and Robert Papalia are Italian born twin brothers who are well known to police in Vancouver, Montreal and London. According to a January 4, 1996 edition of 'The Daily Mail' (London),, Anthony Papalia Sr. escaped from prison while awaiting a 1980 trial on charges of defrauding investors of a gold mining scheme in British Columbia. According to a December 27, 1997 edition of The Vancouver Sun', the Papalia brothers and another partner, Giovanni Camporese, have had run-ins with securities regulators. The article stated that, "In 1977, they were arrested by Scotland Yard in an alleged plot to defraud investors through Metals Research, which claimed to have a gold mine in British Columbia Despite intense media coverage and lengthy court proceedings, they were eventually acquitted of all charges. Meanwhile, Anthony Papalia had been charged in Vancouver with defrauding Continental Securities of $51,000. He was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to two years less a day, but the appeal court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial." Were the Papalia's guilty? I'll let you be the judge. But are these the type of people we want running around Albania? And should the Albanian government squander its precious natural resources on people like the Papalias? It is quite disconcerting to know that, of all the companies in the world, the Albanian government has elected to do business with Crys-Tel, Metals Research Group and New World Telecom, when there are many companies that could have been pursued that are far more capable, with superior reputations and verifiable financial strength. In the best case, the Albanian government officials are inexperienced and incompetent. In the worst case, they are only living up to their reputation for running what has been ranked by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt governments in the world. But what's the excuse of the U.S. government for promoting companies like New World Telecom? Particularly when one considers that there are major American and European telecom companies that would welcome the opportunity to develop a $300 million telecom system in Albania. I know one Albanian American who brought the matter of New World Telecom to the attention of President Meidani, and his position was that the American government told him not to worry and that there is nothing wrong with New World Telecom. I would like to remind President Meidani that the U.S. government officials are bureaucrats, not businessmen, and just because an American official says it's okay, doesn't necessarily mean it's okay. Albania's government officials have the fiduciary responsibility to do their own research on New World Telecom, Crys-Tel, Metals Research Group, and for that matter, any other companies that are desirous of doing business with the government. Taking an ostrich like position by burying one's head in the sand is unacceptable. My speculation about New World Telecom may or may not prove correct; however, there is one way to find out for certain - open the bidding for Albania's telecom system to a transparent selection procedure. The World Bank has also made this suggestion, and it is a process they have even offered to subsidize. With this process all bidders, including New World Telecom, will be required to submit for consideration by the Albanian government their qualifications, verifiable track records and audited financial statements. My recommendation to the Albanian government is that this model should be adopted for this and all other major projects in Albania. It is far better to be safe than sorry. In the fall of 1996, I warned the Berisha government that if they did not bring an end to the pyramid schemes that "it was not a question of if, but when" they would collapse. At that time I also warned the Albanian government that if they did not take action, and if the pyramids collapse of their own weight, that "large scale civil unrest with ensue." In retrospect, Berisha's failure to heed my warnings and those of others had devastating results for the Albanian people and the Balkans when Albania exploded into anarchy in 1997. Can Albania afford another economic debacle? I suggest that the Albanian government ponder the words of James Hendrix, "castles made of sand, fall into the sea - eventually." Gary Q. Kokalari is an Albanian American and serves as president of the Albanian Heritage Foundation and as a director of the Kosova Relief Fund. Professionally, he has nineteen years of experience as a financial advisor to wealthy investors and corporate clients. He holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.S. from Boston University. THE ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE ISSUES 885 AND 886 OF 'ILLYRIA' From Ismet at itu.or.th Fri Nov 19 02:27:50 1999 From: Ismet at itu.or.th (Ismet Hamiti) Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 14:27:50 +0700 Subject: [Info-tech] Row erupts over Kosovo mobile network contract Message-ID: <21E9FACBBBFED011BF1000805FAA34260A1951@pro01.itu.or.th> Taken without permission for fair use only. ------------------------------------------------------------- Row erupts over Kosovo mobile network contract By Andrew Gray PRISTINA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A row has erupted between international and local officials over one of the most glittering prizes in Kosovo's reconstruction process-a multi-million dollar deal to build a mobile phone network.The battle involves two of Europe's telcommunications heavyweights, Alcatel of France and Siemens of Germany.It also highlights some of the most central issues, such as disputed ownership of state property, faced by officials trying to rebuild the war-scarred territory's economy.In a nutshell, Kosovo's United Nations-led administration favours a bid from Alcatel to provide equipment and supply the network. A commission set up by the U.N. decided at the weekend the French firm should be awarded the contract.But the local public post and telcommunications company, PTK, has chosen an offer from Siemens and says officials from the U.N. mission, known as UNMIK, have no right to interfere."As I understand it, they have the right to supervise-and they're doing that-but not to stop us and to give us solutions," Agron Dida, PTK's general manager, told Reuters."The owner of this company is the people of Kosovo, not UNMIK," he said.Unsurprisingly, the U.N. takes a different view. It backs the decision in favour of Alcatel made by the Joint Civil Commission on Postal and Telecommunications Services (JCC)."PTK is not a private company but a public company. And so the JCC has the rights of an owner that would be the rights of a shareholder in a private company," said Pascal Copin, UNMIK's director of post and telecommunications.The pressure is on both sides to find a way out of the impasse soon. Hampered by antiquated equipment, years of underfunding and NATO bombing earlier this year, Kosovo's telecommunications system is in urgent need of renovation.In many places, only local telephone calls are possible via the landline network....if people have a working phone line at all. A Serbian mobile network, Mobtel, operates erratically and only in the capital Pristina.UNMIK says a contract with Alcatel will be ready in about two weeks and it will be signed.It is banking on the PTK not daring to delay a process which should rapidly improve the quality of life for many people here and bring in substantial revenue for its own coffers."I'm sure that the PTK management wishes for the good of the Kosovars and the good of Kosovo and I'm sure that the PTK management will sign the contract with Alcatel," Copin said.Technically and financially, both bids were generally acceptable, officials familiar with the process say. In each case, the PTK would borrow around 35 million deutschemarks to set up and run the network and repay from revenue generated.Dida says the PTK's objections to the Alcatel bid stem primarily from a plan to use a main switch, which routes all calls in the network, and billing system in Monaco.But Copin says this would only be a temporary measure to get the system up and running more quickly. After a couple of months, billing and switching would be done in Kosovo, he says.He says UNMIK favours the Alcatel bid as it offers more ingenious solutions for getting round technical and bureaucratic obstacles to set up a comprehensive network more rapidly.Whatever the final outcome of this row, the issue of who runs Kosovo's state-owned businesses is already one of the most thorny issues here and is likely to rear its head frequently.UNMIK runs Kosovo, legally still part of Yugoslavia, under a U.N. Security Council resolution. U.N. officials say this gives them the right to control state assets in Kosovo.Often, however, members of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority booted out of state jobs under a decade of Serb repression -- feel they should be back at their desks and in charge.Equally, Serbian and Yugoslav state official protest that the assets still belong to them and say the U.N. is stepping beyond its mandate by creating separate Kosovo entities such as PTK. From etrit at alb-net.com Fri Nov 19 12:09:33 1999 From: etrit at alb-net.com (Etrit Bardhi) Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 12:09:33 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Info-tech] Row erupts over Kosovo mobile network contract In-Reply-To: <21E9FACBBBFED011BF1000805FAA34260A1951@pro01.itu.or.th> Message-ID: Hmmm, it seems that our French friends Pascal Copin and Bernard Kouchner would like to give the job to Alcatel, that happens to be a French company... I wonder why... Etrit. On Fri, 19 Nov 1999, Ismet Hamiti wrote: > Taken without permission for fair use only. > ------------------------------------------------------------- > Row erupts over Kosovo mobile network contract > > By Andrew Gray > PRISTINA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A row has erupted between international and > local officials over one of the most glittering prizes in Kosovo's > reconstruction process-a multi-million dollar deal to build a mobile > phone network.The battle involves two of Europe's telcommunications > heavyweights, Alcatel of France and Siemens of Germany.It also > highlights some of the most central issues, such as disputed ownership > of state property, faced by officials trying to rebuild the war-scarred > territory's economy.In a nutshell, Kosovo's United Nations-led > administration favours a bid from Alcatel to provide equipment and > supply the network. A commission set up by the U.N. decided at the > weekend the French firm should be awarded the contract.But the local > public post and telcommunications company, PTK, has chosen an offer from > Siemens and says officials from the U.N. mission, known as UNMIK, have > no right to interfere."As I understand it, they have the right to > supervise-and they're doing that-but not to stop us and to give us > solutions," Agron Dida, PTK's general manager, told Reuters."The owner > of this company is the people of Kosovo, not UNMIK," he > said.Unsurprisingly, the U.N. takes a different view. It backs the > decision in favour of Alcatel made by the Joint Civil Commission on > Postal and Telecommunications Services (JCC)."PTK is not a private > company but a public company. And so the JCC has the rights of an owner > that would be the rights of a shareholder in a private company," said > Pascal Copin, UNMIK's director of post and telecommunications.The > pressure is on both sides to find a way out of the impasse soon. > Hampered by antiquated equipment, years of underfunding and NATO bombing > earlier this year, Kosovo's telecommunications system is in urgent need > of renovation.In many places, only local telephone calls are possible > via the landline network....if people have a working phone line at all. > A Serbian mobile network, Mobtel, operates erratically and only in the > capital Pristina.UNMIK says a contract with Alcatel will be ready in > about two weeks and it will be signed.It is banking on the PTK not > daring to delay a process which should rapidly improve the quality of > life for many people here and bring in substantial revenue for its own > coffers."I'm sure that the PTK management wishes for the good of the > Kosovars and the good of Kosovo and I'm sure that the PTK management > will sign the contract with Alcatel," Copin said.Technically and > financially, both bids were generally acceptable, officials familiar > with the process say. In each case, the PTK would borrow around 35 > million deutschemarks to set up and run the network and repay from > revenue generated.Dida says the PTK's objections to the Alcatel bid stem > primarily from a plan to use a main switch, which routes all calls in > the network, and billing system in Monaco.But Copin says this would only > be a temporary measure to get the system up and running more quickly. > After a couple of months, billing and switching would be done in Kosovo, > he says.He says UNMIK favours the Alcatel bid as it offers more > ingenious solutions for getting round technical and bureaucratic > obstacles to set up a comprehensive network more rapidly.Whatever the > final outcome of this row, the issue of who runs Kosovo's state-owned > businesses is already one of the most thorny issues here and is likely > to rear its head frequently.UNMIK runs Kosovo, legally still part of > Yugoslavia, under a U.N. Security Council resolution. U.N. officials say > this gives them the right to control state assets in Kosovo.Often, > however, members of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority booted out of > state jobs under a decade of Serb repression -- feel they should be back > at their desks and in charge.Equally, Serbian and Yugoslav state > official protest that the assets still belong to them and say the U.N. > is stepping beyond its mandate by creating separate Kosovo entities such > as PTK. From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Nov 30 15:00:50 1999 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 15:00:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Info-tech] Monaco link for phones (Financial Times, November 30 1999) (fwd) Message-ID: Hello, Seems like UNMIK is totally ignoring Kosova Telecom disagreement with the choice of Alacatel??? later, Mentor --- http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q2eb75e.htm November 30 1999 KOSOVO: Monaco link for phones By Kevin Done, East Europe Correspondent International callers to Kosovo's planned mobile telephone network are likely to find themselves dialling Monaco for a connection under a scheme being formulated by United Nations officials in Pristina. The use of the Monaco code is part of a package solution offered by Alcatel, the French telecommunications equipment supplier, to overcome the problems of Kosovo's ill-defined international status. The French group has been selected in an international tender to supply equipment for a mobile phone network in a contract understood to be worth around DM35m ($18.4m), one of the biggest to be awarded since the start of the Kosovo reconstruction effort. A final contract is expected to be signed in the next two weeks between Alcatel and PTK, the Post and Telecommunications enterprise in the territory of Kosovo, with a parallel deal with Monaco Telecom for services such as roaming, access codes and billing. The development of a mobile telecoms network across Kosovo is urgently needed to overcome the present woeful state of telecommunications in the province. Nato bombing put out of action much of the fixed line network. International calls are routed via Belgrade, but there are only a few lines available with a low chance of getting through in the daytime. The existing Yugoslav mobile phone network, Mobtel, does not function outside Pristina and only connects spasmodically with the outside world. The deal, expected to be signed shortly with Monaco Telecom, is designed to obtain an early start-up with an international access code and immediate roaming agreements to allow the use of foreign mobile phones inside Kosovo, says Pascal Copin, UNMIK director for posts and telecommunications. Kosovo lacks the sovereign status needed to qualify for its own international access code. The UN Security Council resolution which established the UN administration in Kosovo leaves the province within the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Yugoslavia, implying in the telecoms sector the use of Yugoslavia's 381 access code. Belgrade is likely to seize on this move as further evidence of its sovereignty being undermined. The deal with Monaco would avoid dependence on Belgrade for international access, however, and opens the prospect of a quick improvement to Kosovo telecommunications. In the first stage the seven main towns and Pristina airport should be connected to a mobile GSM network within 12 weeks of the contract being signed and coverage of most of the remaining population should be provided within 12 months. Financing is expected to be provided through supplier credits to be repaid from revenues generated by the new service. ? Copyright The Financial Times Limited 1999. From Ismet at itu.or.th Tue Nov 30 21:19:54 1999 From: Ismet at itu.or.th (Ismet Hamiti) Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 09:19:54 +0700 Subject: [Info-tech] Monaco link for phones (Financial Times, November 30 1999) (fwd) Message-ID: <21E9FACBBBFED011BF1000805FAA34260A1960@pro01.itu.or.th> Jungjatjeta te gjitheve, Artikulli te cilit i referohet Mentori ka dale nga kuzhina e disa individeve ne UNMIK, te cilet me cdo kusht duan t'a anashkalojne PTK-ne, natyrisht per hesap te vetin. Nuk e besoj se do te kene sukses sepse PTK i njef mire keta individe dhe motivet e tyre, por edhe UNMIK-u nuk e besoj se do te qendroje gjate prapa tyre. Megjitheate, per fat te keq, ata po i pengojne shume perpjekjet e PTK-se per t'u rimkembur. Po te mos ishin zvarritjet e tyre byrokratike, rrjeti mobil ne Kosove, VALA 900, do te "valezonte" tashme ne te gjitha qytetet kryesore te Kosoves. PTK nuk dorezohet lehte... Me shume respekt, Ismet Hamiti > -----Original Message----- > From: Mentor Cana [SMTP:mentor at alb-net.com] > Sent: 01 December 1999 03:01 > To: info-tech at alb-net.com > Subject: [Info-tech] Monaco link for phones (Financial Times, > November 30 1999) (fwd) > > *** Information Technology Forum ***** > Archives: http://alb-net.com/pipermail/info-tech/ > > Hello, > > Seems like UNMIK is totally ignoring Kosova Telecom disagreement > with the choice of Alacatel??? > > later, > Mentor > --- > http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q2eb75e.htm > > November 30 1999 > > KOSOVO: Monaco link for phones > > By Kevin Done, East Europe Correspondent > > International callers to Kosovo's planned mobile telephone network are > likely to find themselves dialling Monaco for a connection under a > scheme being formulated by United Nations officials in Pristina. > The use of the Monaco code is part of a package solution offered > by > Alcatel, the French telecommunications equipment supplier, to overcome > the problems of Kosovo's ill-defined international status. > The French group has been selected in an international tender to > supply equipment for a mobile phone network in a contract understood > to > be worth around DM35m ($18.4m), one of the biggest to be awarded since > the start of the Kosovo reconstruction effort. > A final contract is expected to be signed in the next two weeks > between Alcatel and PTK, the Post and Telecommunications enterprise in > the territory of Kosovo, with a parallel deal with Monaco Telecom for > services such as roaming, access codes and billing. > The development of a mobile telecoms network across Kosovo is > urgently needed to overcome the present woeful state of > telecommunications in the province. Nato bombing put out of action > much > of the fixed line network. > International calls are routed via Belgrade, but there are only a > few lines available with a low chance of getting through in the > daytime. > The existing Yugoslav mobile phone network, Mobtel, does not > function outside Pristina and only connects spasmodically with the > outside world. > The deal, expected to be signed shortly with Monaco Telecom, is > designed to obtain an early start-up with an international access code > and immediate roaming agreements to allow the use of foreign mobile > phones inside Kosovo, says Pascal Copin, UNMIK director for posts and > telecommunications. > Kosovo lacks the sovereign status needed to qualify for its own > international access code. > The UN Security Council resolution which established the UN > administration in Kosovo leaves the province within the "sovereignty > and > territorial integrity" of Yugoslavia, implying in the telecoms sector > the use of Yugoslavia's 381 access code. Belgrade is likely to seize > on > this move as further evidence of its sovereignty being undermined. > The deal with Monaco would avoid dependence on Belgrade for > international access, however, and opens the prospect of a quick > improvement to Kosovo telecommunications. > In the first stage the seven main towns and Pristina airport > should > be connected to a mobile GSM network within 12 weeks of the contract > being signed and coverage of most of the remaining population should > be > provided within 12 months. > Financing is expected to be provided through supplier credits to > be > repaid from revenues generated by the new service. > > ? Copyright The Financial Times Limited 1999. > > > _______________________________________________ > Info-Tech mailing list: Info-Tech at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/info-tech