Ericsson, Stockholm, has signed a $69 million contract with gcc, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States, for the implementation of a fiber-optic network project interconnecting gcc countries Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Ericsson will supply and distribute 1600-km of buried fiber-optic cable, fiber-optic terminals and systems, sdh transmission systems, multiplexers, microwave links, encryption devices, and a network management system. The network is scheduled for service in December 1999.