3G GSM Services in Georgia
While Armenia is stuck in the dark ages with the lowest per capita subscription to mobile phone services in the CIS because of the dreaded ArmenTel monopoly, The Messenger reports that a license for a third generation 2.1 GHz GSM frequency has been awarded to Magticom. The frequency is the third of its kind to be issued in the former Soviet Union and will offer subscribers new voice, data and video services.
MagtiCom did not attempt to hide its satisfaction at the fact that Georgia is the third country among post Soviet countries where such a license has been issued. The license will allow it to provide the full range of services that are available in the United States, Europe and Asia.
“The point is that this frequency allows us to provide a new generation of services. That is why we were prepared to pay a lot of money to get these services before anybody else,” David Lee, general director of MagtiCom said in an interview.
The communications commission has given the company twelve months to introduce the services and in three years it should cover the whole territory of Georgia with the new frequency.
Meanwhile, even with the arrival of VivaCell on the market, the ArmenTel fiasco continues to disrupt telecommunications in Armenia. Although mobile phone use might well exceed 450 - 500,000 subscribers by the end of the year, the customer base now exceeds 1 million in Georgia, surpassing the number of subscribers for fixed-line phones. In Azerbaijan, there are over 1.7 million mobile phone subscribers.
The full article can be read online here and there’s an interview with David Lee, General Director of MagtiCom, here.
