Cable and Wireless Plc plans to invest $572m over the next five years to boost infrastructure and improve customer service in Panama now it is managing the country’s national phone company Intel. C&W bid $652m to secure a 49% stake in Intel when it was privatized in May and the joint venture was renamed Cable and Wireless Panama. C&W Panama chief executive Troy Todd said the planned investment will make revolutionary changes in the telecommunications capability of Panama. Only 12% of homes in Panama have a phone which offers considerable growth potential. C&W has promised to deliver over 60,000 new lines by March next year, rising to 400,000 new lines before March 2002 and plans to install 10,000 new pay phones.
