(7 Apr 2002)
1. News conference at Intercontinental Hotel, with Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai speaking at podium
2. Karzai as he is handed a mobile phone and waits for Afghan widow in US to pick up call
3. Karzai as his call is picked up and he starts speaking
4. UPSOUND (Pashtu) Karzai speaking on phone
"I am very happy. I am very happy to talk to you because today we are launching for the first time a new mobile phone system and there are a lot of people gathered here to see it."
5. Karzai and people applauding
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Gavin Jeffrey, Managing Director, Afghan Wireless Communication
"Well, today, as you can see, his excellency Hamid Karzai made the first mobile phone call, actually to a widow in the United States, an Afghan widow, and this is a symbolic representation of the introduction of modern technology and telecommunications into the country."
7. Karzai and Foreign Minister Abdullah sitting in audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Gavin Jeffrey, Managing Director, Afghan Wireless Communication
"Initially, obviously the early takers are going to be people like journalists, ministers, business people, but as time moves on, prices drop, which they will, and gradually we will be able to access the more middle class and probably lower class Afghans."
9. Karzai leaving at end
STORYLINE:
Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai on Saturday helped launch the first mobile phone network in
Afghanistan.
The Afghan Wireless Communication company is a G-S-M (Global System for Mobile communication) network.
It will provide the country with national and international calls, voice mail and text messaging, as well as access to the internet.
The official launch took place at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel.
Karzai made the first mobile call - to an Afghan refugee living in New York.
International calls between Afghanistan and the United States, Canada and western Europe will cost 56 U-S cents a minute.
National calls within Afghanistan will cost 30 U-S cents and local calls within a city ten U-S cents.
The phones and the SIM cards go on sale on Sunday in Kabul and they are expected to be a best selling commodity - despite the cost which is prohibitive for most Afghan citizens.
A handset is expected to cost between 350 and 450 U-S dollars.
A team of 30 Afghan expatriate engineers and technicians were brought to Afghanistan to help set up and run the network.
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