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| History Central Asia: In Central Asia, MCT currently operates through nationally-licensed mobile ventures in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. MCT was the first to introduce GSM services to Central Asia and was the first GSM operator in both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. MCT served as a founder in each of its Central Asia operations. Coscom was formed in 1996 and began commercial operations in 1997. Somoncom was formed in 1998 and began commercial operations in March 2000. Indigo Tajikistan was formed in 2001 and introduced commercial service in 2002. Roshan was formed in 2002 and introduced commercial service in July 2003. Three of MCT's Central Asian ventures, Indigo-Tajikistan, Somoncom and Roshan, have been developed in a strategic partnership with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. Russia: MCT's first operations were developed in Russia. Founded by MCT, Uraltel (Yekaterinburg) and Sibintertelecom (Chita) were formed in 1993. Each received GSM licenses in 1995 and began commercial operations in 1997. In September 2000 MCT completed the purchase of a controlling interest in RTDC Holdings, Inc. ("RTDC"), a MediaOne International affiliate, and holder of eight mobile interests and a local and long-distance switching venture in Russia. Development of RTDC's business ventures began in 1990 through the efforts of US West International ("US West"). US West was among the first telecommunication companies to invest in and commence mobile operations in Russia. The first major commitment was an investment in Delta Telecom in October 1990, followed by an investment in MCC in December 1991. Additional Russian mobile licenses were acquired and developed over the following years in major population centers, such as Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk and Rostov. MCT's interest in RTDC was subsequently sold in 2002. In December 2000, MCT completed the acquisition of Vostok Mobile, the Russian mobile subsidiary of Golden Telecom Inc. Vostok Mobile was formed in 1994 and developed interests in fourteen Russian mobile ventures. Its joint ventures were awarded mobile licenses in thirteen regions, and each venture initiated commercial operation between April 1995 (Lipetsk) and June 1998 (Novgorod). In May 2001 MCT introduced a national brand, Indigo, to unite the services of its joint ventures with existing regional brands retained on a "co-brand" basis to leverage regional history and local image. In August 2003 MCT sold five of its Russian ventures, representing a developed subscriber base of over 300,000, to Mobile TeleSystems. In November 2004 MCT sold its Siberian operator Sibintertelecom, whose subscriber base exceeded 100,000 people, to Mobile TeleSystems. In total, MCT has operated through twenty-five ventures in Russia through its history, participating in all phases of formation, network planning and deployment, growth in users and services, and joint venture management. Additional information can be obtained on its current ten Russian ventures, licensed to serve a combined population of 16.5 million, from the www.indigo.ru website.
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