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Tashkent clears VEON’s Perfectum deal with conditions on tariffs and speed

A special commission approved the purchase of Rubicon Wireless Communication, the company behind Perfectum, by VEON’s UAE-registered holding for about $207 million including about $93 million of assumed debt, Spot reported on Tuesday from the committee’s Telegram channel. Perfectum must run as a separate operator for at least three years and keep its 5G fixed-wireless tariffs for a year.

A lattice telecom mast with panel antennas against a dusk sky above the edge of a low-rise sandy town, with one amber aircraft light.

“The special commission approved the deal subject to a number of conditions aimed at ensuring competition,” the Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee wrote, in Spot’s rendering. VEON UZB Holding Ltd, registered in the United Arab Emirates and the owner of all of Unitel, the company that trades as Beeline Uzbekistan, is the buyer, and the target is 100% of Rubicon Wireless Communication.

Conditions attach to the operator’s identity and its prices. “Perfectum must continue to work as an independent operator for at least 3 years after the purchase,” the committee wrote. The operator must keep its current 5G fixed-wireless tariffs for existing subscribers for at least twelve months and not let average internet speed fall below 300 megabits a second, the committee said. Forcing subscribers onto the Beeline and VEON digital platforms is prohibited.

“The special commission approved the deal subject to a number of conditions aimed at ensuring competition,” the Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee wrote, in Spot’s rendering.

The deal brings VEON 115 megahertz of spectrum in the 850 and 3800 megahertz bands, about half again as much as Beeline’s combined holdings, by Spot’s account, and VEON had announced the signing on Monday 19 October.

The committee’s decision clears the purchase and does not close it: the seller is not named in the report, and no completion date is given.