S'pore ISP Pacific Internet (Nasdaq: PCNTF), announced Monday that it has been awarded a facilities-based operator (FBO) license by Singapore's Info-communications Development Authority (IDA).

The license allows Pacific Internet to offer a number of telecommunications-related services in Singapore from next month, when the local market is fully liberalized.

The telecommunication services of Pacific Internet can be provided either through the existing public switched telephone network or through a dedicated deployed network or a combination of both.

Nicholas Lee, chief executive officer of Pacific Internet, said that the FBO license enable Pacific Internet an ability to purchase bandwidth and connectivity directly from international consortiums that will potentially lower its operating costs significantly.

The company intends to deliver selected telecommunications services to both the corporate and consumer markets in Singapore within the next six to nine months. These services may include international direct dial, leased circuit services, Internet exchange services, virtual private network services, managed data network services, store-and-forward services, value-added network services and Internet-based voice ervices.

Referring to the company's future strategy, Lee said that in the medium term, the company intends to provide broadband access services to clients, using wireless broadband technologies such as Local Multipoint Distribution Services (LMDS).

"We are already in the midst of our LMDS trials, having been among one of three companies that was granted a license from IDA last month to conduct it," said Lee.

"In terms of mobile connectivity, Pacific Internet expects to also move aggressively into Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) applications and 3G (third generation) technologies that will combine both voice and data services."