Vestitel BG, a subsidiary of local gas company Overgas Inc., will invest 4 mln levs in the installation of a fibre-optic pipe linking Sofia and the town of Kulata on the Bulgarian-Greek border. The 223 km cable will have 72 fibers, including 12 broadband channels, and will be installed by April 2005. The project will bring the triple-play of Internet, TV and voice services to end-consumers, contributing to the diversification of Overgas's core business expertise. Bulgaria's telecom regulator licensed Vestitel BG in August 2004 to provide voice and data-casting services. Overgas has already started the installation of fibre-optic cables in Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Rousse and Sofia and plans to deploy some 200 km annually. State-owned gas company Bulgargaz and cable operator CableTEL, co-owned by Bulgarian and U.S. investors, signed an agreement for strategic co-operation in April this year which envisages the construction of a national fibre-optic backbone. A CableTEL fiber-optic pipe already connects Sofia and Kulata and the company plans to loop Haskovo, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Bourgas, Varna and Dobrich by the end of 2004. Bulgaria's Austrian-owned wireless telecom operator MobilTel is also busy installing a fibre-optic network of its own.