12 - 18 July 2001

ISP group to be launched shortly

The government will launch the ISP group on 17 July, the Minister for Justice and Local Government Dr Austin Gatt said during a visit to Melita Cable plc. The group should provide a forum for Internet service providers to meet and discuss the ways of making Malta on-line, Dr Gatt said.
He said the ICT sector offers huge opportunities to the Maltese and the fact that Melita Cable employs 300 people is proof of this. He praised the professionalism introduced by the company and also the fact that Cisco has recognised Melita Cable as a premier partner.
Dr Gatt said it was important that efforts and initiatives were not doubled if the country wants to be competitive. “It is for this reason that we are setting up the ISP group. We all want to work in the same direction,” he said.
Together with the ISP group, the government wants to see how ICT use can spread in the country and thus the internet becomes accessible to all. “We want the ISPs to work together and instead of acting as competitors, they look at each other as partners,” he said.