DUSHANBE, May 12, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik cellular operator TT-Mobile providing cellular telecommunications services under the brand of MLT (Mobile Lines of Tajikistan) is installing base stations on the territory of the Ayni district in Sughd province to provide the district administrative center and nearby settlements with high-quality cellular communications, according to the MLT press service.

Installation of the base stations in Ayni is part of the plan for expansion of MLT operations in 2010, the source said.

Established in 2001, MLT accounts for more than 20 percent of users of mobile telecommunications services in the country.

MLT is now a joint venture between the Russian cellular operator MegaFon and Tajikistan’s national fixed-line operator, Tajik Telecom.  MegaFon owns 75 percent of the shares and Tajik Telecom holds a 25 percent interest in MLT.

MegaFon, an open joint stock company, was founded in May 2002 with the renaming and reorganization of the Russian cellular operator North-West GSM. 

MLT was the first cellular operator in Tajikistan to offer its clients the 3G standard in 2005.  It now offers cellular telecommunications services in the GSM-900/1800, 3G-UMTS and 3.5G HSDPA standards.  The company has license for providing telematic and data communications (including IP-telephony) services.