GSM network connects customers in Afghanistan

[Kenny]

Oh yeah!!! GSM roaming in Afghan will be coming soon!
They'll probably have 3G - WCDMA before we will! Spectrum licenses are dirt cheap in Afgan!!!

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GSM network connects customers in Afghanistan

Afghan Wireless Communication (AWCC) has launched a commercial GSM network in Afghanistan. Starting in Kabul, GSM mobile services have just been launched with a network capacity of 20,000 lines, and in the following months availability will extend to Herat, Mazar-i-Sherif, Kandahar and Jalalabad. The BBC reported that Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai made the network's inaugural call, to Germany. The GSM connection will sell for about US$450 each (although just US$150 for customers who have an existing GSM handset), which is almost certainly going to be too high for most people, but demand was still sufficient that there were queues outside the Ministry of Communication which is handling the sale of handsets. About 100 handsets were sold on the first day, mainly to businessmen and international aid workers. AWCC is a joint venture between the government and Telephone Service International (TSI). TSI did start to set up a GSM network several years ago, and it eventually covered Kabul and Kandahar, but was restricted to members of the Taliban government.

[IdiOTeQnoLogY]

I am sure all the oil workers going to build the pipeline which is half the reason we are there will appreciate the GSM network.

[Kenny]