Uzbekistan Authorities Defer Operations of Coscom, a U.S.-Owned Mobile Operator
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — A U.S.-owned mobile phone operator whose license was suspended for alleged technical faults has been unable to fully resume its operations in the tightly controlled ex-Soviet state, the company’s director said Tuesday.Abraham Smith said that after Uzbek telecoms agency had deferred a resumption of license for Coscom, 87-percent controlled by Washington-based MCT Corp., the company’s customers were able to make calls only inside the Coscom network and to one of Uzbekistan’s mobile phone operators.
Earlier this month, the Uzbek Communications Technologies Agency ordered Coscom to suspend its service for 10 days over alleged «systematic» violations of licensing agreements.
Smith described that decision as «very cruel,» and said the company has requested Uzbek Parliament to resume the license.
«We hope to resume our services without going to court,» Smith said.
Coscom serves 378,000 of the Central Asian nation’s 2.7 million mobile phone users. Its main competitors are Russian mobile operators Vimpel Communications and Mobile TeleSystems, which took over the local Unitel and Uzbdunrobita providers, respectively, last year.
Smith also denied allegations of independent online publications that the decision to halt Coscom’s services was caused by a power struggle between Uzbek clans seeking to devaluate the company before taking it over. «I see little truth in these allegations,» he said.
President Islam Karimov’s hardline government has expelled dozens of foreign companies for alleged legal violations. The U.S. Department of Commerce has said that Uzbek authorities had forced foreign investors to sell their assets for less than fair market value.
In August, an Uzbek court declared bankrupt a local joint venture of Newmont Mining Corp., one of the world’s largest gold producers. Newmont said it would challenge the action through international arbitration.