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MTS Mulls Turkmen Exit

By The Moscow Times

March 2, 2011

Mobile TeleSystems said in a statement Wednesday that it might leave Turkmenistan and withdraw its 1,000 personnel after a row over the suspension of its operations.

MTS said Dec. 16 that Turkmenistan's Communications Ministry sent it a notice that its license, which expired Dec. 21, wouldn't be renewed. Its license remains revoked. MTS said the reasons for the suspension were never "justified."

MTS is one of the largest foreign companies active in Turkmenistan and has 2.4 million subscribers, representing 85 percent of the market, according to Joshua Tulgan, director of investor relations at MTS.

(Bloomberg)

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