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Afghan Wireless installs Siemens mobile switch,
expands Kabul capacity to 100,000 subscribers

21 November 2003 Afghan Wireless has completed installation of a new 100,000-line Siemens mobile switch, which will significantly upgrade network capabilities as well as add capacity to Afghanistan's capital city network. The switch is currently being tested and is expected to be ready for commercial launch in the next few weeks.

Apart from providing capacity to serve Kabul's ever-expanding population, the switch also enables Afghan Wireless to extend service to Jalalabad. Afghan Wireless will redeploy existing equipment to Jalalabad and other cities where service has not yet been initiated.

The switch upgrade compliments a total network upgrade program for Kabul that began in February, when TSI, the U.S. parent of Afghan Wireless, agreed to purchase more than €4 million in Siemens network equipment to improve cellular transmission. Subsequent purchases have extended the Siemens contract to more than $14 million. All of Afghan Wireless's cell sites will use Siemens radio equipment.

The network upgrade will also include the introduction of a sophisticated billing and customer care system from Argent Networks Ltd., New Zealand, which will enable Afghan Wireless to provide innovative new products, such as international roaming, while keeping service costs low through better network management.
updated Nov. 21, 2003