Afghanistan will aim to launch 3G mobile services in 2011, according to Reuters citing government minister Baryalai Hassam.
The country’s telecoms ministry is talking to the four existing mobile operators about upgrading to 3G or even 4G, although it…
Afghanistan will aim to launch 3G mobile services in 2011, according to Reuters citing government minister Baryalai Hassam.
The country’s telecoms ministry is talking to the four existing mobile operators about upgrading to 3G or even 4G, although it remains unclear whether this would be done via an auction or an even distribution.
Afghanistan now boasts 80% mobile coverage, with 13.3 million subscribers. According to Reuters, the telecoms sector is the largest contributor of tax, having generated US$129m in 2009. Hassam predicted that 90% of the country could soon be covered.
The market is served by Roshan (which is 51% owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economuc Development, 36.75% by UK-based Cable & Wireless Worldwide and 12.52% by Swedish incumbent TeliaSonera), Etisalat, MTN and Afghan Wireless Telecommunications. State-owned incumbent Afghan Telecom provides both fixed-line and CDMA service.
According to the Mobile World statistics cited by Cellular News, the country had 14.3 million mobile phone users at the end of June, representing a population penetration level of 49%.
