MTS suspension extended

Embattled cellco MTS Uzbekistan has had its licence suspension increased from ten days to three months by Uzbek authorities. Reuters reports that the operator had requested to resume operations but had been denied, as the Uzbekistan Agency for Communications and Information (UzACI) claimed to have found further violations. The original suspension was implemented following allegations that MTS had failed to comply with regulations and that the company’s management had been involved in money laundering. The cellco’s Russian parent Sistema has strongly denied any wrongdoing and its CEO has appealed directly to Uzbekistan’s president Islam Karimov.