Kcell announces payout of first tranche for LTE frequencies

/KASE, February 17, 16/ – Kcell JSC (Almaty), whose shares are officially listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has provided KASE with the following information statement: quote Joint Stock Company Kcell (hereinafter "Kcell" or the "Company") (LSE, KASE: KCEL) ... announces the payout of KZT14 bn as the first tranche for the LTE frequencies in accordance with the decision taken by the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan (the "Ministry") in January 2016. Kcell has paid a one-time fee of KZT4 bn, which the company had to pay before February 1, 2016 to get the access to 1700/1800 MHz band and 10/10 MHz width radio frequencies and the first tranche in the amount of KZT10 bn, which the company had pay before March 1, 2016, to get the access to 700/800 MHz band and 10/10 MHz width radio frequencies. The company has already begun active preparations to launch LTE using its network. The Ministry also informed all operators of the need to launch LTE using the previously issued frequencies before March 1, 2016. As previously reported, the permission to use these frequencies was granted with subject to the obligation of the operators to provide cellular communication coverage in localities with a population of 500 or more people, as well as all the roads and railways of national and regional significance by December 31, 2020. unquote [2016-02-17]