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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Kazakhstan'

GSM-K ups network investment

  • April 30th, 2008
  • 2:41 pm

Kazakhstan’s largest cellular operator by subscribers says it plans to invest USD264 million this year, up from USD223 million in 2007, as it pushes ahead with the expansion of its network. GSM Kazakhstan (GSM-K), which offers services under the K-Cell brand, is set to install 310 new base stations by the end of the year, Interfax reports. GSM-K is 49%-owned by Kazakhtelecom and the remainder is held by Fintur Holding, a venture between Turkcell and TeliaSonera. The cellco had just over six million subscribers and a 54% share of the Kazakh mobile market at the end of 2007.

   

 

Turkcell to bid for Belarus mobile operator (Turkey)

  • April 11th, 2008
  • 11:18 am

Turkey’s leading mobile phone operator Turkcell TCELL.IS said on Friday it has decided to bid for state-owned Belarussian mobile operator BeST as it seeks to expand its reach in the region.

“Our company has decided to begin works to make a bid to shareholders to buy a majority stake in Belarussian Telecommunication Network (BeST),” Turkcell said in a statement.

Last year Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said the government was ready to cede control of BeST for around $500 million.

In October, Belarus agreed to sell control of the country’s No. 2 mobile phone operator MDC, operating under the Velcom brand, to Telekom Austria for $1 billion.

Turkcell’s major shareholders are Nordic telecommunications company TeliaSonera AB, Russian private equity firm Altimo and unlisted Turkish conglomerate Cukurova.

Turkcell already has interests in mobile phone operations in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia and has repeatedly said it wants to expand in the regions around Turkey.

   

K’cell achieves 6 million subscribers mark (Kazakhstan)

  • December 13th, 2007
  • 2:25 pm

Kazakhstan mobile operator K’Cell’s subscribers have exceeded 6 million. Earlier this year, K Cell celebrated 5 million subscribers and after four months, the milestone of 6 million has been achieved. K Cell has attracted over one-third of Kazakhstan citizens with its customer centric approach.

   

Vimpelcom posts Q3 record net income of USD 458 mln (Russia)

  • November 30th, 2007
  • 2:22 pm

Russian mobile operator Vimpel Communications (Vimpelcom) has reported record net operating revenue of USD 1.96 billion for Q3 2007, up 43.9 percent from Q3 2006 and up 13.9 percent from Q2 2007. OIBDA reached a record USD 1.01 billion for the quarter, up 41.4 percent year-on-year and up 13.2 percent quarter-on-quarter; with net profit up 70.7 percent year-on-year to a record USD 458 million. The consolidated figures cover its operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. Vimpelcom registered a total of 50.69 million active mobile subscribers at end-Q3 2007, up 18.9 percent from 42.64 million a year earlier.

Its Russian operations had a total of 41.80 million active subscribers at end-September, up 7.8 percent from 38.79 million a year earlier. Its Russian business generated Q3 revenue of USD 1.65 billion, up 34.5 percent from USD 1.23 billion in Q3 2006; with net income of USD 422.58 million, up 50.1 percent from USD 279.96 million. ARPU in Russia was USD 13.40 in Q3 2007, up 26.4 percent from USD 10.60 in Q3 2006, with average minutes of use (MOU) up 37.5 percent year-on-year from 151.9 to 208.9 minutes. Churn rate in Russia was 10.1 percent, versus 9.9 percent in Q3 2006.

   

TeliaSonera reports 3Q group results (Sweden)

  • October 26th, 2007
  • 2:45 pm

Scandinavian telecoms group TeliaSonera has posted its ‘best ever’ third quarter results, according to its president, Lars Nyberg, who highlighted ‘strong sales growth and substantial profit contributions’ from the group’s Eurasian division as a key factor. The Stockholm-based fixed line, mobile and broadband operator reported that consolidated revenues in the three months to the end of September 2007 increased by 7.1% year-on-year to SEK24.798 billion (USD3.855 billion), whilst EBITDA excluding non-recurring items reached SEK8.714 billion, down from SEK8.756 billion in 3Q06. Quarterly operating income excluding non-recurring items increased to SEK8.354 billion, from SEK7.802 billion a year earlier, and net income rose from SEK5.745 billion in 3Q06 to SEK6.213 billion in 3Q07. The company expects full-year net profit in 2007 to be ‘somewhat higher’ than in 2006, excluding the positive one-off items of approximately SEK1.7 billion last year.

TeliaSonera’s total number of subscribers increased during the quarter to 109.5 million by the end of September 2007, with 2.5 million net new subscriptions at majority-owned operations and 3.6 million net acquisitions at associated companies. In its Mobility Services division, turnover increased 6.4% year-on-year to SEK11.551 billion (SEK10.859 billion), lifted by the acquisition of MVNO debitel in Denmark in April, the continued development of Spanish 3G operator Yoigo and solid volume growth in Sweden and the three Baltic countries. Strong underlying development in Finland also helped the results. In the group’s Broadband Services area, total sales increased 2.6% year-on-year to SEK10.378 billion (SEK10.119 billion), with revenue rising in all markets except Sweden, where a decline in turnover, caused by lower fixed voice sales, is slowing down and ‘approaching the point where growth in broadband sales fully compensates for the decrease in fixed voice’, according to the firm’s press release. In absolute terms sales were strongest in Wholesale where voice, internet and data revenues continued to rise. Estonia and Lithuania reported record high sales due to strong growth in broadband internet services. In the Eurasia division, net sales rose 26.5% year-on-year to SEK2.911 billion (SEK2.302 billion), boosted by continuing strong subscriber growth, particularly in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as recent acquisitions in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Total group CAPEX in July-September 2007 was SEK3.339 billion, up from SEK2.743 billion in the same period of 2006, driven mainly by increased investments in network capacity, and the launch of new mobile and broadband services. Lars Nyberg identified one of the group’s main priorities as migrating users from traditional fixed line voice networks to new services. ‘Currently, traditional fixed voice services generate approximately one third of the company’s free cash flow and hence shifting the product mix, including investments and costs, from traditional to new services is crucial,’ according to the president.

   

Vimpelcom performs above par (Russia)

  • September 2nd, 2007
  • 2:30 pm

Vimpelcom, Russia’s second largest mobile operator by subscribers, has posted a second-quarter year-on-year net profit rise of 84.3%, well above market expectations, due mainly to growing usage. The cellco reported net income of USD359.3 million versus USD194.9 million in the same period of 2006 and USD277.3 million in the first quarter of 2007. In a poll, analysts had forecast second-quarter earnings of USD324 million. CEO Alexander Izosimov said in a statement that his company achieved all-time records in key parameters, including revenue, OIBDA, net income, operating cash flow, and growth was further supported by improving operating parameters, including monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) and minutes of use in all markets. The consolidated results include Vimpelcom’s operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. OIBDA increased 59.7% to USD896.8 million, and net operating revenues rose 53.1% to USD1.72 billion. ARPU reached USD12.3 from USD9 a year before, above analysts’ expectations of USD10.6. ‘This further validates our belief in the high growth potential of the CIS, which is becoming an increasingly important part of our business,’ Izosimov said.

   

 

Turkcell is eyeing Kuwait-Iraq deals

  • August 8th, 2007
  • 7:44 am

Leading Turkish mobile phone company Turkcell said yesterday it would apply to take part in pre-qualification for a tender to buy a 26 per cent stake in Kuwait’s third mobile phone company.

In a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, the company also said it had decided to consider taking part in tenders for three mobile phone licences in Iraq.

Kuwait said on July 9 it was inviting companies to express interest in a 26 per cent stake in the Gulf country’s third mobile phone company.

“Our company has decided… to take part in pre-qualification for the public tender which will be opened for the sale of the 26pc stake,” Turkcell said.

A committee in Kuwait was to pre-qualify companies for the next round of a public auction process, with potential investors required to give a minimum bidding price for the stake.

Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), the Gulf’s second-largest telecom firm by market value, and National Mobile Telecommunications Company operate networks in Kuwait.

Kuwait will offer 50pc of the third operator to the public and retain the other 24pc.

Turkcell already holds interests in GSM operations in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia. Turkcell’s major shareholders are Turkey’s Cukurova, Swedish-Finnish telecoms firm TeliaSonera and Russian private equity firm Altimo.

   
 

 

Kazakhtelecom expands satellite infrastructure

  • August 7th, 2007
  • 2:45 pm

Kazakhstan’s largest wireline operator, Kazakhtelecom (KT), has selected Gilat Satellite Networks to supply several hundred SkyEdge VSATs for its existing broadband satellite network. The latest deployment will take KT’s total satellite infrastructure to 1,600 VSATs and four satellite hubs. The VSATs are used to offer network connectivity for businesses and provide communications links to remote communities. KT serves more than two million urban telephony customers and over 450,000 rural households.

   

 

Kazakhtelecom chooses Alcatel-Lucent for broadband expansion (Kazakhstan)

  • June 25th, 2007
  • 7:11 am

French vendor Alcatel-Lucent has been selected by incumbent Kazakhtelecom (KT) to extend its broadband services. The project is expected to double KT’s network capacity and develop its Megaline broadband access service across eleven regions in the country, including some remote rural areas. The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of the third quarter of 2007. KT is the dominant provider of fixed line telecoms in Kazakhstan, and is owned 50% plus one share by the government.

   

Vimpelcom reports sales growth

  • May 30th, 2007
  • 8:36 am

Vimpelcom, Russia’s second largest cellular operator in terms of subscribers, has reported net operating revenues of USD1.49 billion for the first three months of this year, up 59% from Q1 2006. OIBDA increased 58.8% to USD766.4 million, while net income reached USD277.3 million, up 84.6% year-on-year. At the end of March the group had 45.78 million subscribers across its operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.