Mumbai, Feb 21 (IANS) Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL) Thursday announced it has acquired Ugandan telecom service firm Anupam Global Soft Ltd (AGSL). AGSL holds a public infrastructure provider licence and a public service provider licence issued by Uganda Communications Commission, RCL said.

According to a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, RCL said that under the existing licences, it targets to offer mobile, fixed line, Internet and national and international long distance services, in addition to WiMax and Wi-fi services in Uganda.

The acquisition, made through a subsidiary of RCL, marks the first step in the company’s plans in the international mobile communications market.

The statement also said AGSL has already been allotted radio frequencies and plans to launch its mobile services by end 2008.

RCL will invest $500 million in establishing a fully Internet protocol (IP)-enabled integrated telecom network in Uganda to capture the significant growth potential in this emerging African market, the statement said.

Punit Garg, president of global business at RCL, said: “The Uganda telecom market is similar to what India was 8 years back. Our expertise in managing among the world’s largest integrated telecom network and deep understanding of diverse consumer segments makes us confident to achieve a significant position to add further value for our 2 million shareholders.”

Elaborating on the expansion and network plan, the statement informed that RCL plans to connect the African continent with rest of the world by laying a submarine cable system through its arm Reliance FLAG. It will spend $1.5 billion in building a 115,000 km fully IP-enabled optic fibre network.