KHUJAND, November 24, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik cellular operator, Tacom, which operates under the trademark of Beeline, has provided humanitarian aid to orthodox churches in the cities of Khujand and Chkalovsk, Sughd province.   

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Ms. Sitora Barotova, the chairperson of Tacom’s branch for the Sughd province said, that 10 tons of coals and two stoves had been provided to the Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church in Khujand and the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God Church in Chkalovsk.

According to her, the assistance was delivered to the churches on November 21.   

Tacom is licensed to provide cellular communication services in Tajikistan in the GSM-900/1800, UMTS, CDMA-450, and AMPS standards.  Russia’s VimpelCom purchased a 60% stake in Tacom for $12 million on December 27, 2005.  

VimpelCom, operating under the trademark of Beeline, is the second largest cell-phone operator in Russia.  Its current (As of July, 2008) license portfolio covers a territory where 97% of Russia''s population resides, as well as 100% of the territory of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.  VimpelCom was founded in 1992 and initially operated AMPS/D-AMPS network in Moscow area. In 1997, VimpelCom was taken public by Russian-born American financier Leonid Rozhetskin, becoming the first Russian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: VIP).