Morales nationalizes Bolivian telecom, foreign gas companies

Prices for each of the companies' shares have not been set.

Bolivia privatized the struggling Entel in 1995, handing 50 percent of the company to Stet International in exchange for the Italian company's promise to invest $608 million to modernize its services. Stet later merged with Telecom Italia.

Telecom Italia says it has spent more than that to build Bolivia's largest cell phone and Internet networks while maintaining a commanding share of the now-deregulated telecommunications sector.

But the Bolivian government says Telecom Italia fell short on the promised investment and owes some $25 million in taxes.

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Associated Press writer Dan Keane contributed to this report from Santa Cruz, Bolivia.