DUSHANBE, June 22, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has extended the license of the cellular operator, Tacom, to provide cellular communications services in the GSM-900/1800 standard until June 18, 2014, according to press release issued by Tacom.

The limited liability company Tacom was granted the license to provide cellular communications services in this standard in 2005 and as of March 31, 2009, the number of Tacom’s customers using this standard has exceeded 700,000 people.

Tacom that offers cellular communications services in Tajikistan under the trademark of Beeline currently covers almost 60 percent of the territory of Tajikistan, including remote district of Murgab in Gorno Badakhshan.

Tacom is licensed to provide cellular communication services in Tajikistan in the GSM-900/1800, UMTS, CDMA-450, and AMPS standards.  VimpelCom, the second largest cell-phone operator in the Russian Federation providing telecommunications services under the Beeline brand, now assumes the 80% ownership interest in Tacom.

The VimpelCom Group consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia as well as Vietnam and Cambodia, in territories with a total population of about 340 million.