1. Overcoming Challenges,
Surpassing Goals - The
AWCC Story

2. While the establishment of Afghanistan's
first wireless telephony network, Afghan
Wireless Communication Company (AWCC),
took place in late 2001, founder Ehsan
Bayat began his mission in the 1990s.

3. His American company, the Florida-based
Telephone Systems International, was
directed to begin launching a public
telephone service in Afghanistan as early as
1995, but the rise of the Taliban and the
subsequent US trade ban derailed the
plans.

4. After the signing of the Bonn Agreement,
however, and the reestablishment of
normal trade, Mr. Bayat quickly got to
work, bringing together a number of
international partners in order to establish
his native land's first wireless network.

5. AWCC's foundation required overcoming
numerous problems, from the country's
war-torn infrastructure to continued
conflict throughout the region. However,
despite these challenges, AWCC quickly
became hugely successful; only a few
months after chairman and future president
Hamid Karzai placed the first call over the
network in April 2002, there were already
2,000 subscribers in Kabul.

6. Nine months after that first call, the
network had 25,000 subscribers. In 2008,
the company had more than 2 million
subscribers across the country, and it
continues to expand with the introduction
of popular services like MyMoney and
further investments in the country's
infrastructure, including the establishment
of 3.75G+ services.