Vimpelcom Lao

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In January 2002, Millicom Lao Co. Ltd. was awarded a 20-year license for GSM services in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos). Millicom Lao was the fourth entrant to the GSM market in Laos and was operating a pre-paid service for GSM 900 and 1800 frequencies. Services were launched under the Tango brand name on April 22, 2003. Millicom Lao Co. Ltd. was a joint venture between Millicom International of Luxembourg (78%) and the Laotian Ministry of Communications, Posts, Transports and Construction ("MCPTC") (22%). Following a restructuring of Millicom's holding in December of 2004, Millicom's holding in Millicom Lao was reduced to 74.1%. Mr. Zaman, Senior Vice President of Millicom, took the 3.9% of the company. The annual license fee was US$100,000 per year plus 2% of net airtime revenues. The total project cost was expected to be US$9 million. The IFC provided a loan of US$4 million which was approved in December of 2004, to upgrade and expand the company's network. Tango initially had quality coverage in the capital Vientiane and in the second largest town of Savannakhet. Coverage was soon extended to the main tourist area of Luang Prabang. The national coverage network was completed in April 2005, giving Millicom Lao coverage in all but one of the 17 provinces of Laos. The company had 76,728 subscribers by December 31, 2005 and competed with three other GSM operators in Laos: Laos Telecommunications Company, a joint venture between Shinawatra and the government of Laos; ETL, which was wholly owned by the government of Laos; and a virtual mobile network operator, LAT, which offered services using ETL's network. At the end of 2006, Millicom rebranded its Tango service in Lao as Tigo starting in the following year. It also announced that it had invested $10 million in technological advancements and coverage improvements in 2006, effectively doubling coverage in provincial areas. Seperately, Millicom was also awarded an ISP license and 50 MHz of WiMax spectrum space in Laos. At the end of 2009, Russian telecommunications company Vimpelcom acquired Millicom's 78% stake in Millicom Laos. The remaining 22% remains with the govt. of Laos. Acquisition price was USD 66 million. http://www.millicom.com/index4.htm (SEC stuff; i.e. All you need to know!). http://www.tigolao.com/ (They actually have corporate news on their user website)