Uzbek government seeks new investor for ex-MTS frequencies

According to business news agency Prime, the Uzbek government is seeking an investor to buy the frequencies formerly belonging to MTS subsidiary Uzdunrobita. The report, which cites a source at the State Committee for Communication, Informatization and Telecommunication Technologies, claims that the government does not plan to fully or partly distribute the frequencies among other Uzbek operators, and that the search for a new investor has begun. The Russian-backed unit had its operating licences suspended in June 2012, before being stripped of the concessions two months later. Uzbek authorities accused the cellco of a slew of regulatory and criminal infractions, varying from failure to acquire the correct permissions for base stations to laundering cash and tax evasion.