India's Olive Telecom launches CDMA-equipment production in Uzbekistan
- Written by Dilshod Ashurmatov
TASHKENT, February 8 (TCA) — The OliveTelecom Joint Venture started manufacturing equipment for users of the CDMA-450 cellular network in Uzbekistan, said Kakhramon Yuldashev, First Deputy Director General of Uzbektelecom, which is the co-founder of the JV.
“Presently, 1,000 fixed CDMA-terminals have been produced, the volume and range of products will be extended this year,” said Yuldashev.
In February 2012 India’s Olive Telecommunication and Uzbektelecom signed the founding documents for the establishment of the OliveTelecom JV in the Navoi Free Industrial and Economic Zone. At the initial stage, the JV will produce 10,000 CDMA modems, 38,000 mobile and fixed CDMA-terminals, and 13,500 tablets per year. The project also provides for the further production of CDMA-450 smartphones. Investment in the first phase of the production totaled approximately $6 million.
In 2004 Uzbektelecom, Uzbekistan’s national telecom operator, opened a branch of Uzbektelecom Mobile to develop and operate a cellular network in the 450 MHz band. In 2009, Uzmobile (the brand of the network) introduced the EV-DO Rev.A technology based on CDMA-450 standard in several regions of the country. At the end of 2012, the number of Uzmobile cellular network users increased 2.1-fold to over 200,000 subscribers. The level of coverage is 71 percent of the country.
