Uzbek state-backed full-service telco Uzbektelecom (Uztelecom, including Uzmobile) has begun a mobile network upgrade project which includes deployment of 5G technology alongside 4G LTE coverage expansion and data speed improvements. Over 3,000 existing base stations throughout the country will be modernised alongside the rollout of more than 2,000 new base stations under the ‘Season of Renewal’ project.
In the first stage of the project, Uzbektelecom says it will achieve ‘full’ 5G network coverage of the capital Tashkent plus ‘partial’ 5G coverage in regional centre cities, following which plans for subsequent stages of 5G expansion across the country ‘will be analysed’. The company also declared that it will be the first Uzbek network operator to provide 5G access on flagship smartphones, including Apple iPhone devices.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate Uzbektelecom signed deals including a 3G/4G/5G expansion worth over USD500 million with Huawei and ZTE in September 2022. Since July that year the telco operates a limited pilot 5G network in Samarkand.