Freedom Telecom Kazakhstan
Over the past year, we have talked a lot about our ambitions and plans to enter the communications market and in late 2023, we did it. We launched this business on the strength of our brand name alone, and quickly, “Freedom Telecom Kazakhstan” became instantly recognizable in our markets. One of our main advantages in launching a business from scratch is the absence of the burden of obsolete infrastructure. The modern technologies we possessed when we started this business allowed us to launch approximately 30 new services under the Freedom Telecom brand in the shortest possible time, including broadband internet access and open access to Wi-Fi in cities. And we believe that some of the best is yet to come under this business segment as we also expect to enter the mobile telecommunications market in the not-too-distant future.
The year has shown us that technologies are changing rapidly and that new standards are emerging. Increasing our pace to stay ahead of these changes and our competitors in the marketplace is the right use of our time, but this kind of audacity and ambition should always be supported by strong expertise, experience, and our reputation for being trustworthy and making good on our commitments. To help us here, we went looking for a strategic partner who could provide us with the consulting support we needed to advance our telco progress, and it became Vodafone, with whom we recently signed a corresponding agreement.
Vodafone is a company with a forty-year history, occupying a leading position in the number of subscribers among global telecom operators. Working with Vodafone will give us access to some of the world's best technologies and practices, innovations, and experience and I am convinced that this will be a completely new era for Kazakhstani consumers and the telecommunications market. Having a strong strategic partner will allow us to increase our efficiency through rapid introduction of innovative technological solutions and products that have already been tested in markets where Vodafone currently operates.
Cooperation with Vodafone is a signal to the whole world that Kazakhstan has the right telecommunications policy, an open economy that is ripe for this type of technology, and that we understand the rules of the game. In the end, we really want to become the change agent who will provide high-quality, affordable internet and mobile communications to all populated areas of the country and with a partner like Vodafone, this mission seems much more feasible.