Almaty, 31 August 2016 – Kcell Joint Stock Company (“Kcell” or the “Company”) (LSE, KASE: KCEL), the leading provider of mobile telecommunications services in Kazakhstan by market share in terms of revenue and subscribers, has launched a 4G/LTE network in Kazakhstan.
The project has been implemented in partnership with Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), one of the leading global suppliers of LTE technologies and services. The 4G/LTE network will be available to subscribers in the cities of Almaty, Atyrau, Aktau, Shymkent.
In addition, under a network sharing agreement between Kcell and Beeline Kazakhstan, owned by VimpelCom Group (NASDAQ: VIP), (announced today in a separate release), Kcell subscribers will be able to access 4G/LTE services in nine further cities: Astana, Karaganda, Zhezkazgan, Kostanay, Oskemen, Borovoe, Pavlodar, Semey and Satpayev[1]. As a result, Kcell will offer 4G/LTE coverage in 13 cities, covering more than 30 percent of the population of Kazakhstan, by the end of 2016.
Kcell’s 4G/LTE network will operate on the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum, which facilitates a more stable indoor signal and will greatly enhance the quality of mobile Internet services. 4G/LTE will offer speeds of up to 100 Mbit/sec.
Arti Ots, CEO of Kcell JSC, commented:
“Since we launched our first pilot 4G/LTE hot spots in shopping malls in February 2016, more than 200,000 unique subscribers have tested our 4G/LTE Internet services. Today more than 25 percent of Kcell customers are using 4G/LTE smartphones so we are delighted to be launching this 4G/LTE network.
Kcell aims at enhancing the quality of our clients’ lives and providing services based on the highest international standards. The launch of the 4G/LTE network will enable our customers to maximize data speeds so that they can share, distribute and exchange large volumes quickly and easily.”