Azerbaijan's Ministry Issues Licenses to 2 Mobile Operators

BAKU, Dec 28 (Prime-Tass) -- Azerbaijan's IT and Communications Ministry has issued licenses to two mobile operators, Azerfon and Catel, the country's IT and Communications Minister Ali Abbasov told reporters Wednesday.

Azerfon was licensed to provide mobile services in the GSM 1800 standard and plans its investments at U.S. $300 million in its operations within the next two years, Abbasov said.

Catel received a license to provide services in the 450 MHz frequency, he said, he said without specifying the mobile standard.

Azerfon was established by Azerbaijan's state-controlled Azertelecom, the IT and Communications Ministry, Germany's Siemens and two unspecified offshore companies.

Catel is a joint venture between Azertelecom and the U.S. company Omni. The company has been operating on Azerbaijan

Posted to the site on 28th December 2005