Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov 28 /Trend D.Azizov/
The mobile operator Beeline (IP LLC Unitel, a subsidiary of the Russian "VimpelCom Ltd." in Uzbekistan) increased capacity of international Internet bandwidth up to 1.2 Gb / s, a statement said on Wednesday.
The Beeline brought the capacity of international Internet channel to 1 Gbit/s in August this year.
The company now has more than 9.2 million subscribers.
This spring, Beeline launched its fourth-generation mobile network, working on LTE (Long Term Evolution) protocol.
The company planned to invest total of $63 million in the development and modernization of the mobile network in Uzbekistan in 2012.
"The load on the network equipment and the channels of communication has risen sharply in the last few months. This fact has caused the expansion of the current external channel by 20 percent, and it is still the largest capacity among mobile operators in Uzbekistan" technical director of Unitel Denis Kotlyarenko said.
As reported earlier, Beeline has accepted 2.198 million new subscribers from July to September - more than any other operator in Uzbekistan, and directed about $20 million for the purchase of additional equipment.
In 2006 VimpelCom completed the acquisition of Unitel - the second largest mobile operator in Uzbekistan (GSM-900-1800) from the international consortium led by the Greek Germanos SA The cost of the deal - $200 million plus assumption of debt of approximately $ 7.7 million.
In addition, in 2006 VimpelCom also acquired the Bakri Uzbekistan Telecom ("Buztel") operator - the fourth-largest mobile phone operator in the GSM standard. The cost of this deal was $60 million plus assumption of debt of approximately $2.4 million.
Also in 2006 VimpelCom completed integration of networks of Unitel and Buztel companies. As a result of the reorganization Buztel became part of Unitel.
In March 2009 Unitel and JV Buzto, a subsidiary of Golden Telecom, the fixed network operator in Uzbekistan, started to provide commercial services under a single brand "Beeline".
During five years investments of the Russian company in business development in Uzbekistan amounted to $345 million.
