The Indian government has provided US$30 million in aid to Sierratel, Sierra Leone's national telecom carrier, to revamp its landline services in Freetown, Kono, Port Loko, Kenema, Bo and Moyamba with new switches, said Sierratel managing director Alpha Sesay Thursday.

"We are going to upgrade our network and computerize our operations, Sesay said. "We will also start providing Internet services directly to users."

This support will help Sierratel in its bid to regain its lost glory as the national carrier, he added.

India has provided $5 billion in African aid, and Sierra Leone Information and Communication Minister Alhaji I. B Kargbo noted last week that a portion of the funds would be expended on the telecommunication sector. At the time, however, he did not go into further detail.

A major focus for Sierratel over the next five years will be to examine the possibility of linking with the SAT-3/WASC fiber optic cable, most likely through Cote d'Ivoire, in order to decrease calling rates in the country, Sesay said.

Sierra Leone missed being connected to the communication cable, which cuts across Senegal through Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and Nigeria, due to political turmoil following the country's May 1997 coup.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.