Bluefish says that its SIMs are now being used in the handsets of subscribers to Afghanistan's first cellular phone network. The project, which started in 2002 in Kabul now provides GSM communications to the other key cities of Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Afghan Wireless Communication Company is a joint venture between Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications and Telephone Systems International, a USA-based company founded by Afghan-American entrepreneur Ehsan Bayat. Subscribers pay for the service through the purchase of pre-paid recharge cards available in each city. The Afghan Wireless network provides a vital telecommunications service to the Afghan people, and a direct link with the outside world, something the war ravaged country has lacked for several years.
"We are proud to have provided the first SIMs to Afghan Wireless said Paul Hill, Bluefish's CEO. "Introducing a GSM service into any country for the first time is hard enough, but to do it successfully complete with links to international networks as Afghan Wireless has done is quite an achievement. It is satisfying to know that our SIMs are playing a small but vital role in rebuilding the communications infrastructure in Afghanistan."
Posted to the site on 30th April 2003
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/8774.php