New operator code from Azercell - 051!

Baku, November 08, 2007

The number of the subscribers of the Azercell Telecom JV, the company which continually applies the latest innovations of the information and communication technologies at the mobile communications market of Azerbaijan increases rapidly. Azercell’s network currently covers 78% of the country’s territory and 99% of its population. Operator has more than 2 800 000 subscribers. The increasing number of subscribers made second operator code inevitable thus making it necessary for Azercell to put the numbers starting with operator code 051 in use. Now Azercell Telecom JV will operate with two codes, which are 050 and 051.

“We started our operations in 1996 with the code 050 only and having become the leader of the market we have been growing and developing rapidly. At present 73 % of the mobile communication subscribers of the country are our customers and the number of the Azercell subscribers is to be 3 million very soon. This is the indication of not only quantity, but also quality. This figure shows trust to Azercell Telecom JV of those, who use mobile communications. Taking the rapid development speed into consideration, we start operating new Azercell numbers with the new operator code” – said A. Halim Ates, the General Manager of the Azercell Telecom JV while addressing the new operator code presentation ceremony.

The implementation of the new operator code will accordingly make changes to the intra-network calling rules for Azercell subscribers. The subscribers using the code 050 will be able to call and send messages to each others’ seven-digit numbers without dialing any code. However, while dialing the numbers with the code 051 or sending messages to them, the 050 code subscribers would have to dial the code 051 and the seven-digit number afterwards. But the subscribers having the code 051 have to dial the ten-digit number (the 3-digit code of the network and seven-digit number) even while making the intra-network calls and using SMS and MMS services.

The new operator code will provide the new members of the Azercell family with new numbers.