71.   Paul said the company had ventured into new areas which offset a decline in business from its largest client Nortel Networks and the slump in the telecoms equipment sector.

72.   Share prices in the telecoms sector have recently begun to recover slightly from the lows they hit last year.

73.   The commission thinks there are enough strong competitors in the European telecoms sector to prevent the new ventures from acquiring any dominant position.

74.   The government had previously rejected opposition demands for the formation of a non-partisan parliamentary committee to look into the privatisation of the telecom sector.