British Vodafone, in partnership with Finnish Nokia, is set to establish a new mobile operator in Uzbekistan, according to the majority shareholder of InfinBank and founder of textile company UzTex Group Farhod Mamatjanov. The initiative involves the deployment of a 5G Standalone network and represents a significant investment of approximately €250 mn. The project aims for a launch in early 2025. This announcement was made by the Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev on August 20 during an open dialogue with businessmen in Uzbekistan's Nukus.
The new operator will benefit from Nokia’s technology and equipment. The project has secured €100mn from the Finnish Export Agency through Uzpromstroibank and will be complemented by an additional €150mn from the project founders. The initiative is expected to create around 1,000 jobs.
The Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&), from the UAE, will also participate as a technical partner. This follows Perfectum mobile operator's recent announcement in October 2023 of implementing 5G New Radio technology with Nokia’s support.
Perfectum, which was fully privatized in March 2024, is now owned by Abdumalik Iminov and operates under the name Rubicon Wireless Communication. The operator’s transition includes a strategic partnership with e& Group to advance Uzbekistan's telecom infrastructure with 5G technology.
Uzbekistan’s mobile telecommunications sector includes five GSM operators: Mobiuz, Beeline, Humans, Uzmobile, and Ucell. Perfectum has historically provided CDMA services. The new 5G operator will enhance the country’s telecom landscape and support ongoing modernization efforts.
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