Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sept. 5
By Demir Azizov - Ttrend:
The mobile operator Beeline Uzbekistan (known as Unitel LLC, a subsidiary of the Russian company VimpelCom in Uzbekistan) deployed a 4G (LTE) network for commercial use, Unitel CEO Alexander Vorobyov told Trend Sept. 5.
"Today, the 4G network covers the central areas of Tashkent, and the company's plans for the next year includes expanding the LTE coverage in the capital, and then throughout the country," Vorobyev said.
Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. supplied the equipment for the 4G network.
In 2006, VimpelCom acquired Unitel, the second largest mobile communication operator in Uzbekistan, from the international consortium headed by the Germanos S.A.
VimpelCom also acquired Uzbek GSM operator Buztel, and then merged Unitel's and Buztel's networks.
Following a restructuring Buztel became a part of Unitel.
In March 2009, Unitel and the fixed network operator Buzton (Golden Telecom's subsidiary) started rendering commercial services under a unified brand of Beeline.
In December 2008, Unitel launched 3G network for commercial use.
Currently, Unitel is a leading telecom operator in Uzbekistan. By the second quarter of 2014, the number of its subscribers stood at to 10.434 million.
Within five years, the Russian company's investments made for development of business in Uzbekistan amounted to $345 million.
Currently, Uzbekistan has four mobile communication operators - Unitel, Coscom (Scandinavian TeliaSonera's subsidiary operating under the brand name of Usell), Rubicon Wireless Communications (RWC, operating under trademark Perfectum Mobile) and Uzbektelekom Mobile (Uzmobile).
It is expected that in late 2014, Russian JSC MTS will resume its activities in Uzbekistan. MTS was declared bankrupt in 2013.
In February 2014, Uzbekistan decided to establish a national mobile operator taking Uzmobile's branch Uzbektelecom as a basis for the future operator.
It is expected to render GSM services using the LTE technologies.
Edited by CN