MTS - Turkmenistan

MTS (Turkmenistan) uses 2 GSM bands and 1 UMTS band. Find out if your unlocked phone or mobile device will work with MTS (Turkmenistan). See the tables below for details.

MTS Turkmenistan was a mobile network operator in Turkmenistan that was part of the Russian-based Mobile TeleSystems (MTS). The network had the mobile network country code 438 and mobile network code 01. MTS Turkmenistan operated in the country until 2017, when it was allegedly forced to abandon its operations due to actions by the state-owned Turkmentelecom, which blocked its access to interconnection points. This led to significant financial losses for MTS, estimated at up to US$1.5 billion.

MTS had a substantial presence in Turkmenistan, with a large number of subscribers. However, its operations were eventually terminated, and the company filed a case with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investments Disputes (ICSID) in July 2018. The ICSID tribunal ultimately found in favor of Turkmenistan, rejecting all claims by MTS and awarding Turkmenistan over US$11 million to cover legal fees and arbitration costs.

After MTS's departure, the mobile network sector in Turkmenistan continued to develop, albeit slowly. The state-owned Altyn Asyr, which was previously a subsidiary of Turkmentelecom, became the sole mobile network operator in the country. Altyn Asyr provides 2G and 3G coverage and has recently introduced 4G/LTE services in Ashgabat, with plans to expand the coverage nationwide.

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