ANKARA: Turkcell, Turkey’s leading mobile phone operator, has launched Ukraine’s first 3G GSM network service through the Life:) brand.
The brand, 55 percent of which is owned by Turkcell, was awarded 3G mobile licenses in Ukraine in February.
This is Turkcell’s second largest investment after its investments in Turkey, said Ukraine Economic Development and Trade minister Aivaras Abramovicius at the launch ceremony last weekend.
Through this new service, mobile phone users will have speedier mobile internet access in Ukraine, thus raising their life quality,” he said.
Turkcell Chairman Ahmet Akça said this 3G investment will enable Turkey and Ukraine to build closer ties.
Today we not only changed the lives of people living in Ukraine with 3G service but we also shortened the distance between our countries,” he said during the ceremony.
Company CEO Kaan Terzioğlu defined Ukraine as a “pilot country” for Turkcell to enhance further regional growth.
Customers will be able to enjoy data speeds of up to 63.3 megabytes per second, he added.
The brand served 10.3 million subscribers in Ukraine as of the end of 2014, according to Turkcell data. It recorded an increase of 1.1 million subscribers year-on-year in the final quarter of 2014, and currently has a market share of 18 percent after consistently growing its customer base over the years.
Some 36 percent of Life:) customers are smartphone users, making the operator the market leader in Ukraine in terms of smartphone penetration, Turkcell said in a statement in February.
