Altyn Asyr (mobile operator)

Turkmen state owned mobile operator

Altyn Asyr

Trade name

| TM CELL
Company type| State-owned closed joint-stock company (CJSC)
Industry| Mobile telecommunications
Founded| 2004
Headquarters|

Ashgabat

Turkmenistan

Parent| Turkmentelecom
Website| tmcell.tm
Altyn Asyr SIM-card

Altyn Asyr CJSC (Turkmen: "Altyn Asyr" ýapyk görnüşli paýdarlar jemgyýeti, lit. 'Golden Age') is the state owned mobile operator in Turkmenistan. The company uses the TM CELL brand as its trade name. In September 2017, it had more than 5,5 million subscribers.[1] It is headquartered in Ashgabat.

The company was founded through official decree by Turkmenistan leader Saparmurat Niyazov in 2004.[2]

The company has a monopoly in the mobile market in Turkmenistan.[2] The company is headed by Shyhmyrat Shaharliyev, a member of Turkmen president Serdar Berdimuhamedov's family.[2] The shareholders of the company are not publicly disclosed.[2] Telecommunications are closely monitored and censored in Turkmenistan.[2] Despite considerable investment by Turkmen authoritarian regime into the company, the services provided by the company have been described as poor.[2]

## History

[edit]

The company was established in August 2004.[2] In the same year, the company became a member of the GSMA, where it was registered under the number 438 02. The operator became a structural unit of the Turkmentelecom, which in turn is fully owned by the Ministry of Communications.[3][4]

The equipment for the initial 50,000 subscribers was supplied by Siemens. Equipment for 25 thousand numbers has been installed in Ashgabat (including Archabil District), Ahal Region (Ak Bugday, Ruhabat, Geoktepe Districts) and Abadan. The rest of the equipment with a total capacity of 25 thousand numbers was installed in the regional centers of Turkmenistan.

In 2010, Altyn Asyr was the first in Turkmenistan to launch a 3G network of the UMTS standard. In April 2010, the number of abonents of Altyn Asyr reached 500 thousand.[5]

A new administrative building was inaugurated in October 2012. The four storey building accommodates 350 staff members.[6]

Since 2012, the company has been providing international roaming services in foreign countries.

On September 18, 2013, the operator launched LTE.[7] At the end of September 2014, the company introduced VoLTE.[8]

In August 2024, the company stopped issuing new SIM cards, citing their absence and the lack of available numbers. Previously, queues to obtain a number stretched out for a year. Using SIM cards from operators from neighboring republics is prohibited in Turkmenistan.[9]

Altyn Asyr's main competitor in Turkmenistan is the Ashgabat City Telephone Network.

## Operations

[edit]

Altyn Asyr in Turkmenistan is a mobile network operator providing services under the standards GSM, 3G and LTE. Apart from cellular network, the company also offers local telephone service,[10] broadband, and mobile television.[11]

### eSIM

[edit]

In November 2023 Altyn Asyr was the first in Turkmenistan to present an opportunity to switch over to eSIM.[12][13][14]

### Subscriber numbers

[edit]

Altyn Asyr has 6 network codes: 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 71. Telephone numbers in the international format are +99361xxxxxx, +99362xxxxxx, +99363xxxxxx, +99364xxxxxx, +99365xxxxxx and +99371xxxxxx.

Subscribers benefit from core services (voice communications, data transfer, SMS, MMS, voice mail, etc.)

## Number of subscribers

[edit]

Date | Subscribers

|

April 2005 | ≈1,500[3]
March 2006 | ≈20,000[15]
April 2010 | ≈500,000[16]
June 2012 | ≈2,600,000[17]
October 2012 | ≈3,000,000[18]
September 2013 | ≈3,500,000[19]
September 2017 | ≈5,500,000[20]

## Sponsorship

[edit]

The operator Altyn Asyr is a shirt sponsor of the football club Altyn Asyr FK since its inception. TM CELL's name is located on the front of the team's shirts.[21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "We are three and half million of people". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
2. ^ a b c d e f g Myatiev, Ruslan; Shikhmuradov, Bayram; Kupfer, Matthew. "One Family's 'Golden Age': President's Relative Controls Turkmenistan's Only Mobile Operator". OCCRP. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
3. ^ a b "Turkmenistan introduces national GSM cellular communication network". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
4. ^ "Туркменистан приступил к внедрению национальной системы сотовой связи стандарта GSM". www.turkmenistan.ru.
5. ^ "Число абонентов оператора сотовой связи "Алтын Асыр" достигло полумиллиона". www.turkmenistan.ru.
6. ^ "Administrative building of national cellular operator "Altyn Asyr" inaugurated in Ashgabat". www.turkmenistan.ru. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
7. ^ "TMCELL starts to connect the subscribers to the LTE network". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
8. ^ "Altyn Asyr introduces voice over LTE". Telecompaper. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
9. ^ "Aşgabatda mobil telefonlary üçin SIM kartalaryň satuwy bes edildi". Azatlyk Radiosy (in Turkmen). 2024-08-13.
10. ^ "TMCELL Ýapyk görnüşli paýdarlar jemgyýeti".
11. ^ "TMCELL Ýapyk görnüşli paýdarlar jemgyýeti".
12. ^ [1]
13. ^ [2]
14. ^ "Новая услуга от TM-CELL: виртуальные сим-карты". 9 November 2023.
15. ^ "Turkmen president urges minister of communications to lower tariffs for mobile services". www.turkmenistan.ru. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
16. ^ "Number of subscribers of "Altyn Asyr" cellular communication operator reached half a million". www.turkmenistan.ru.
17. ^ "Turkmenistan's national cellular communication network provides services to more than 2,600 million subscribers". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
18. ^ "Number of subscribers to national cellular communication operator "Altyn Asyr" exceeded 3 million". www.turkmenistan.ru. Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
19. ^ "TMCELL - We are three and half million of people". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
20. ^ "Новые тарифы TM-CELL увеличили число абонентов сети на 200 тысяч » "СНГ СЕГОДНЯ" - последние новости стран СНГ читайте на SNG.TODAY".
21. ^ "the-afc.com".

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Altyn Asyr (mobile operator) at Wikimedia Commons
* Official website

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Turkmenistan mobile phone companies

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* Altyn Asyr
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* MTS Turkmenistan (BCTI)
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