Roshan (telco)

Roshan (Persian: روشن) is an Afghan telecommunications provider.[1]

Roshan
TypePrivate
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded2003
HeadquartersAfghanistan
Key people
Karim Khoja, CEO
ProductsGSM
ParentAKFED
Websitewww.roshan.af

History

In January 2003, Roshan was awarded the second GSM license in Afghanistan, at a time when there was only one other mobile phone operator, Afghan Wireless in the country. Decades of civil wars had left a limited telecommunications infrastructure. Prior to the fall of the Taliban, phone lines were not accessible to the population, and Afghans had to travel abroad to make international calls.

Roshan, which means "light" or "hope" in Persian, is one of Afghanistan's leading telecommunications providers. Today, Roshan's GSM network reaches 240 cities and towns across all of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The network covers over 91% of the population.

Roshan is one of the largest investors, private companies and taxpayers in Afghanistan. It has invested nearly $600 million in the telecommunications infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Roshan employs over 1,100 people, of whom 20% are women. Indirectly, the company has added over 30,000 jobs to the Afghan economy through its top-up stations, retail stores and public call offices.

Roshan introduced 3G in April 2013. It was the third company in the market to have been granted a 3G license after Etisalat (UAE-based telecom), and MTN (South Africa-based telecom). It has 3G service in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar, Herat, and Kunduz.

In October 2017, a cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation that had already begun on September 29, 2017, was announced, which was intended to provide customers with free access to Wikipedia and its sister projects, so no data volume would be charged for connections for this purpose.[2][3][4][5] The cooperation was part of the Wikipedia Zero project, which was discontinued by the Wikimedia Foundation in February 2018.[6][7][8] Accordingly, the existing agreement with Roshan expired on December 15, 2018, without renewal.

Shareholders

Roshan was originally founded under the ownership of the following companies:[9][10][11]

The investments are held through the Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan B.V., based in Amsterdam, which holds 100% of the shares of the Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan Ltd..

In July 2004, Alcatel fully sold its 5% stake with 3.25% in MCT and 1.75% in MTI. The investments are held through the Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan B.V., based in Amsterdam, which holds 100% of the shares of the Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan Ltd. [14]

As of July 31, 2020, TeliaSonera sold its 12.25%[15][16] and Monaco Telecom sold its 36.75% stake[17] each to AKFED in August 2020, making it the sole owner.

M-Paisa

In 2008, Roshan introduced the M-Paisa money transfer service, which enables registered Roshan customers to transfer money using their mobile phone for peer-to peer transfer, repayment of microfinance loans, purchase of airtime and salary disbursement for companies. Roshan partnered with Vodafone to launch this service and M-Paisa now operates on a Comviva platform.

See also

References
  1. "Roshan reaches 6 million subscribers" by Roger Field, CommsMEA, ITP Media Group, 13 June 2012.
  2. "Archive:Mobile partnerships - Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki".
  3. "Roshan starts free of charge access to Wikipedia for its customers". The Khaama Press News Agency. 2017-10-09.
  4. "ROSHAN PARTNERS WITH WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION TO BRING FREE MOBILE ACCESS TO WIKIPEDIA IN AFGHANISTAN".
  5. Salaam Times. "Wikipedia to offer free access to Afghans via mobile phone".
  6. "Archive:Wikipedia Zero - Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki".
  7. "Afghanistan will soon have free mobile access to Wikipedia".
  8. Wikimedia Foundation (2018-02-16). "Building for the future of Wikimedia with a new approach to partnerships". Diff.
  9. "AKFED-led consortium wins Afghan telecom licence | Aga Khan Development Network".
  10. ""Roshan" promises a bright future for GSM digital services in Afghanistan | Aga Khan Development Network".
  11. Nazir Peroz (2009), Framework for a Functional IT Supply in Higher Education in Afghanistan (in German), LIT, pp. 11 ff, ISBN 978-3-643-10225-6 (bei Google Books)
  12. "Monaco Entreprise". Monaco Telecom (in French).
  13. "TeliaSonera Acquisition of MCT Corp" (PDF). TeliaSonera.
  14. "Proposed Loan and Political Risk Guarantee Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Roshan Phase II Expansion Project" (PDF). Asian Development Bank. June 2006.
  15. Fildes, Nic (2020-10-06). "Telia sells off world's biggest telecoms carrier business". Financial Times.
  16. "TeliaSonera - ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020" (PDF). TeliaSonera. 2021-03-10.
  17. "Monaco Telecom International cède ses parts dans Roshan". Monaco Telecom (in French). 2020-08-18.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Category:Roshan|]].
  • Official website
  • The Economist: Shining a Light
  • Hisham, Hishamuddin (11/3/2007)1500 Public Call Office to Be Established in Rural Areas of Afghanistan, Anis Newspaper
  • (6/21/2007) Roshan And Cisco To Take Telemedicine To Afghanistan, Wireless Healthcare
  • (7/25/2005) Org Infomatics
  • BBC Monitoring World Media. (2/26/2008) Afghanistan: Mobile-phone money-transfer service launched.
  • Xinhua General News Service. (3/2/2008) Armed men destroy mobile phone tower in S. Afghanistan.
  • Reuters. (9/25/2008) Afghan wireless industry plagued by security issues. The Globe and Mail (Canada), Pg. B11.
  • Anneli Groenewald. (10/1/2008) CSR and the environment: Developing countries: Social working. TT Magazine.
  • Thai Press Reports. (8/14/2008) Afghanistan: ADB supports expansion of mobile phone services in Afghanistan.
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