The company has received a radio-frequency spectrum for construction, operation and rendering of services of standard international mobile telecommunications (IMT) 2000/universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). Vimpelcom currently offers 2G GSM services in Uzbekistan through its subsidiary Unitel, which was formed in 2006 through the merger of Buztel and Unitel, two wireless licensees.
Vimpelcom entered the Uzbekistan telecom market through its 100% acquisition Buztel for $60m in January 2006.
The company operates in seven countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Armenia. According to research firm Advanced Communications and Media, as of August 2007, Vimpelcom was the second largest operator in Russia and CIS countries with a total subscriber base of 60.5 million. The largest operator in this region is Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS) with 79.7 million subscribers while MegaFon holds the third place with 33.6 million.
Source: ComputerWire daily updates
