Roshan the First Operator to Reach 6 Million Customers in Afghanistan

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• Langue: English

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Roshan the First Operator to Reach 6 Million

Customers in Afghanistan

PR Newswire

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 11, 2012

- Demand for data services enables market leader to surpass another

significant milestone

KABUL, Afghanistan

,

June 11, 2012

/PRNewswire/ -- Roshan,

Afghanistan

's

leading total communications provider, today announced it has surpassed six

million active subscribers less than one year after the company became the

country's first operator to cross the five million mark. Roshan attributes the

rapid subscriber growth to its superior network quality, innovation and overall

customer service and customer experience. Roshan has also experienced

significant growth in non-voice services and, in particular, in providing leading

data products to its customers.

Since inception in 2003, Roshan has invested more than

$550 million

in network

infrastructure to deliver high quality voice and high speed data services to over

60% of the population in

Afghanistan

. "Our market research shows the

customers consistently choose Roshan for the superior performance of our

network," said Roshan CEO, Karim Khoja. "We are constantly assessing the

evolution of the market and will continue to invest over

$60 million

in our

network every year to deliver the most relevant products and services, and the

widest coverage, without compromising on quality," said Khoja.

"Roshan is focused on delivering innovative products and services to meet the

unique demands of the Afghan market," said Khoja. Roshan pioneered mobile

data services in

Afghanistan

, becoming the first operator to introduce

BlackBerry and data products. Roshan's data packages are differentiated to

meet the varying needs of large corporate clients, small business owners, and

youth eager to connect to the world, including growing access to social media

tools. The span of youth oriented data products range from Night Surf

promotion for late night browsing, to the added features of the Yaraan Voice

and Data promotion which features

Euro 2012

football updates.

In a continued spirit of bringing innovation to the market, in 2008, Roshan

introduced the M-Paisa mobile wallet (also known as M-Hawala) to

Afghanistan

with Vodafone, making

Afghanistan

the second country in the world to adopt

Vodafone's mobile money product. The M-Paisa wallet allows 97% of the

Afghan population, which is unbanked, to enter the financial system via their

mobile phones. Today over 1.2 million M-Paisa customers can send money to

family members, pay bills, and buy airtime and receive their salaries through

cashless transactions on the Roshan network by simply pressing a button on

their mobile phones.

Continuous enhancements to the M-Paisa service are added, and in

May 2012

,

Roshan introduced international mobile money transfers services to

Afghanistan

in partnership with Western Union. M-Paisa customers in

Afghanistan

can receive Western Union Mobile Money Transfer transactions

from around the world directly into their mobile wallet accounts, in particular

from countries with the largest population of Afghans living abroad, like UAE,

Germany

and

Canada

.

For world-class quality standards in customer service, Roshan's award winning

call center recently became the first entity in

Afghanistan

to achieve the

internationally recognized and rigorous ISO 9001 certification. Over 6 million

customers can access highly trained customer care professionals fluent in Dari

and Pashto,

Afghanistan

's two national languages, as well as English.

Roshan is also the only operator to harness its network to provide to provide an

integrated approach on corporate social responsibility through Roshan

Community, its dedicated corporate social responsibility program. This includes

innovative services such as bringing telemedicine solutions to the country's

rural populations, as well as a national price information system called Malomat

targeted to Afghan farmers. Malomat provides farmers and traders with the

latest pricing information for commodities such as wheat, rice, pomegranates

and chicken in 13 markets, ensuring that they secure the highest value possible

for their crops. Currently 500 farmers are participating in a trial program in five

provinces across the country.

About Roshan

Roshan (Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd) is

Afghanistan

's

leading total communications provider with over 6 million active subscribers

and a network that covers over 230 cities and towns in all of the country's 34

provinces.

Roshan is a true

Afghanistan

success story, serving as a catalyst for economic

growth and actively contributing to the country's long-term development. Since

its inception eight years ago, Roshan has invested over

$500 million

in

Afghanistan

and is the country's single largest investor and taxpayer,

contributing approximately 5% of the Afghan government's overall domestic

revenue. Roshan directly employs more than 1,200 people, 20% of whom are

women, and provides indirect employment to more than 30,000 people.

Roshan is deeply committed to

Afghanistan

's reconstruction and development.

The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), part of the Aga Khan

Development Network (AKDN), is a major shareholder of Roshan and promotes

private initiatives and building economically sound enterprises in the developing

world. Also owned in part by Monaco Telecom International (MTI) and

TeliaSonera, Roshan brings international expertise to the country and is

committed to the highest standards of network quality and coverage for the

people of

Afghanistan

.

Contact:

Elizabeth Z. McElroy

Director, Marketing Communications and Public Relations Roshan

Office: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.roshan.af

Maggie Edinger

Account Executive, Corporate

Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Office: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.hkstrategies.com