Ericsson, one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies with 90,000 employees and representation in 170 countries, has chosen Malta as a training platform thanks to a contract with the Institute for Fibre-optic Training and Certification (IFTAC) – an institute that provides certification for fibre-optic technicians and specialists in Hudiskvall, Sweden.

IFTAC forms part of Fibre Optic Valley, a valley southeast of Stockholm with around 100 institutions carrying out research and developing cutting edge technologies in fibre-optic technology.

Fibre Optic Valley has a population of 500,000 people.

Last November, 12 technicians from Ericsson from Sweden, Italy, Greece, India and the US attended a fibre optic training workshop in Malta. In the third week of February, 20 fibre optic technical specialists from Ericsson will be attending another training course in Malta.

IFTAC has a seven-year contract with Ericsson to conduct training for its projects around the world. IFTAC in Malta is represented by ICT Networks (Malta), which was set-up around nine months ago by Morgan Hallgren – CEO and owner of the company.

The vision of IFTAC and ICT Networks (Malta is to set up a training platform in Malta for the evolving North African and Middle Eastern markets.

This vision is aligned with government’s Vision 2015, which endeavours to establish Malta as a centre of excellence in various business services. Fibre Optic Valley also has a 2015 vision, by which time it plans to become a centre of excellence in fibre optic technologies.