Ukraine's Astelit Sees 2005-2007 Investments at $1 Bln

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (Prime-Tass) -- Ukraine's mobile operator Astelit plans to invest U.S. $1 billion in its network development by the end of 2007, the company said in a press release dated November 11, citing CEO Ahmet Tanyu.

Astelit, which launched its "life:)" brand in January, has already invested $315 million in the development of its network, Tanyu was quoted as saying.

"We plan to reach all-national coverage by the middle of 2006,” Tanyu said.

Astelit said that the company has installed 2,300 base stations since January, adding that the life:) network now operates in 100 cities and 9,000 towns in Ukraine as of now.

Turkey's Turkcell controls 54.2% in a company named Euroasia that fully owns Astelit.

Ukraine's Sistema Capital Management Company controls the remaining 45.8% in Euroasia.

Astelit's subscriber base amounted to 1.03 million users as of September 1.

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Posted to the site on 14th November 2005