The Saudi Arabian fixed line licensee Optical Communications Co, which is led by US telco Verizon Communications, is expecting to spend USD3 billion on deploying infrastructure. Verizon has taken a 15% stake in the venture, with other investors including Millicom International Cellular and a number of local partners. ‘For the moment, we have set a USD3 billion budget for the optical wire infrastructure alone,’ a company executive told Reuters. Optical Communications hopes to raise some of the cash it will need to launch its operations through an initial public offering next year, the executive added. A launch is scheduled for 2010.