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CUSTOMERS
25 years enabling people around
the world to enjoy Digital Lifestyle
Our history

We have the strongest advantage of being closest to our customers and understanding their needs and preferences. We reach out to people to help them and to enable them to benefit from the internet and the Digital Lifestyle.

1990

Lift off!

In May, New-York based Millicom Incorporated, wins the first experimental Personal Communications Network (PCN) license in the US, serving the Houston area in Texas, and Orland, Florida.

MICSA

Millicom Incorporated and Industriförvaltnings AB Kinnevik, a Swedish investment company, come together to form Millicom International Cellular S.A.

DIDYOUKNOW? 11 million mobile phone subscribers in the world

Early mobile phone technology begins to significantly impact how people communicate and participate in society everyday.

DIDYOUKNOW?

4 new mobile phones launched to market:

  • Motorola DynaTAC 8800X
  • Motorola Cityman 100
  • Motorola Cityman 190
  • NEC P3
1991

Cable news

In its first year, Millicom announces an agreement with Cable TV Laboratories to jointly develop mobile network technologies and explore new opportunities for Cable TV in the US.

DIDYOUKNOW?

2G Launches

The first Global System of Mobile (GSM) telephony network goes live for the first time. Its 2G network goes on to cover more than 90 percent of the world's population.

First GSM cellular phone call placed

1992

Millicom establishes its headquarters and parent company Millicom International Cellular SA in Luxembourg.

DIDYOUKNOW?

First SMS message is sent

by 23 year-old software developer - Neil Papworth, from a computer, as mobile phones did not yet have keyboards. The text said "Happy Christmas".

1993

Veronique Mathieu joins the company at its Luxembourg office. As part of Millicom's 25 year celebrations, Veronique has been recognized as the company's longest serving member of staff.

Millicom officially begins trading on the NASDAQ National Market

DIDYOUKNOW?

34 million mobile subscribers worldwide

17 million in US, 9 million in Europe and 8 million in the rest of the world.

The world's first smartphone: IBM's Simon
The first phone to combine a pager, fax machine, PDA, calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notepad, email, games and a touchscreen with QUERTY keyboard.

1994

Celcaribe

In 1994, Millicom creates Celcaribe, a mobile phone operator that covers the Colombian Caribbean region.

Trading shares

Strong performances year-on-year continue (28% appreciation). Millicom valued at $1.25 billion.

DIDYOUKNOW?

1 in 5 Stockholm

residents carry a mobile phone
1995

Connecting the
unconnected

Millicom's license hunting focuses on developing countries where rapid economic growth with poor existing telephone facilities make cellular systems particularly attractive.

Millicom's subscriber base more than doubles, increasing by 111%

"The internet? Bah!"

Article published in Newsweek by author Clifford Stoll, calls the prospect of e-commerce
"baloney".

DIDYOUKNOW?
1996

Local Brands

"We seek to build local brands with Millicom being positioned as the international operator supporting a local operating business." (J W Metcalfe, President and CEO)

Substantial increase in total number of subscribers - up 101%.
Millicom has interests in 30 operations in 20 countries.

DIDYOUKNOW?

Motorola StarTAC phone appears on the market

SMS text message capability.
The first vibrating alert feature.
Flip and Candybar handset designs.
RRP $1,000.

First access to the mobile web

1997
DIDYOUKNOW?

Wireless Application Protocol

known as WAP, was established. This was a secure specification that allowed users to access information via handheld wireless devices.

Yahoo and Hotmail email services launch.

Millicom Prepaid Services

are launched in ten markets

DIDYOUKNOW?

Wireless Application Protocol

also known as WAP, was established.
This is a secure specification that allows users to access information via handheld wireless devices.

Yahoo and Hotmail email services launch.

1998

Millicom annual revenue growth at 62%

Continues seven year upward trend

DIDYOUKNOW?

Ringtones

Finnish company launches world's first commercial ringtones to market.

1999

Millicom moves into internet
and data operations

2000
Millicom Paraguay granted license to provide high speed
wireless data services to educational institutions.
DIDYOUKNOW?

Camera Phone

The first ever phone with a built-in camera is launched. Meet Japan's J-SH04

2001

Millicom reports 34 operations in 21 countries, covering a population of 584 million

Millicom incorporates 100% ownership of global GSM roaming clearing house - the Multinational Automated Clearing House (MACH)

MACH provides data transfer and financial clearing settlement services to more than 360 GSM operators worldwide, representing 61% of the global GSM market.

MACH handles 1.1 billion call records in Q4 alone

2002

Strategy

To build the leading brand in each market by offering affordable services to our customers, to provide a strong base for future growth

The death of Jan Stenbeck, Millicom founder and Chairman of the Board, is announced.

2003

Cristina Stenbeck joins
Millicom Board of Directors
and is Vice Chairman of
Investment AB Kinnevik

Millicom shares listed on NASDAQ stockmarket under symbol MICC and on Luxembourg Stock Exchange under symbol MIC

2004

New TIGO brand launches

DIDYOUKNOW?

3G services appeared in the US

Motorola releases flip phone design RAZR

New phone goes on to sell 130 million units and disappears only with the arrival of touchscreen smartphones.

2005

Market trends

In Africa and Asia the penetration story is only just beginning and Millicom's experience and expertise in the mass-market distribution of prepaid minutes will give it a critical competitive advantage as penetration rates rise steeply in the next few years.

DIDYOUKNOW? There are a billion people in Africa but only 51 million using cellphones.

2006

Vision
statement

Freedom to access today's world for people in emerging markets
There continues to be an opportunity in the next few years to build a substantial mobile telephony business in countries with fast growing populations and increasing GDP growth.

Millicom is the second best performing stock on the NASDAQ.

2007
DIDYOUKNOW? The iPhone was launched, thanks to the ARM 11 chip that enabled mobile processors to be fast enough to power this model.
2008

We acquired Amnet

Central American Cable operation providing Cable TV, fixed line, residential broadband internet and corporate services.
With 1.3 million homes passed, Amnet provides services to
500,000 homes.

In Latam penetration is now more than 70% in most of our markets

which means we need to accelerate the pace of innovation in order to continue to drive growth.

2009
Millicom sets an ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% against 2008 baseline by 2020. We also respond to the CDP climate change questionnaire publicly for the first time.
"Investors often ask me what makes Millicom different from our competitors, and I tell them that our greatest asset is our people".

Africa: one fixed broadband subscriber for every 1,000 inhabitants

Latam: broadband penetration at 4.9%

2010
Tigo launches mobile financial services, known as MFS
2011

Millicom's first ever Corporate Social Responsibility Committee was appointed by the Board. An environmental impact team was created to implement energy reduction initiatives and manage e-waste recycling.

“Today our business is no longer only about basic communication; voice is maturing, demand for data is accelerating and new mobility-related services are emerging.“

CEO Mikael Grahne
DIDYOUKNOW?

First wide-spread 4G LTE network, in the US, offers data speeds as fast as cable or DSL Modem and ushers in use of phones as WiFi hotspots, to enable tablets and laptops to be online, on the go.

2012

NEW CEO: Mikael Grahne steps down. Hans Holger Albrecht succeeds him.

MFS reaches 8% penetration by end of 2012. Tanzania at 37%, Paraguay at 24%

DIDYOUKNOW? 6.2 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world (ITU) 78% of these in developing world
2013
Music streaming introduced to Africa and Latin America
through exclusive partnership with Deezer

Mobile child birth registration launches in Tanzania

First year that smartphones outsell feature phones, according to International Telecommunications Union.

2014

UNICEF and MILLICOM formally agree to a three-year ALLIANCE to champion respect FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS in the telecommunications sector.

Seventh largest pay-tv and broadband operator in Latin America

A report by Deloitte LLP for Facebook Inc estimates that a 10% increase in broadband penetration results in a 1.38% increase in a country's GDP.

Tigo and Une merger

2015
“We have the advantage of being close to our customers and understanding their needs and preferences. We are undertaking several projects to reach our offline customers and inform people about how the internet can benefit them and introduce people to what we call the Digital Lifestyle"
Partnership with UNICEF on Child Online Protection

NEW CEO:

Hans Holger Albrecht steps down. Mauricio Ramos succeeds him.

DIDYOUKNOW?
DIDYOUKNOW?

3.3 Billion internet users in the world (population 7.3 billion). Internet Penetration 45%

Worldwide cellphone subscriptions forecast to exceed world population (7.4 billion) for the first time.

World Bank says: “Tanzanians are leading the world in using mobile phones to pay and receive money”

Africa's fastest growing mobile business during first half of 2015 (Q2 results)

World Bank names Tanzania mobile money global leader

One in three smartphone sales in Paraguay bought through MFS

Tigo has five of the world's 20 mobile money brands to have earned more than 1 million customers

Tigo Music named Colombia's most popular music streaming service

Mobile learning brand Edume expands to Asia

Tigo hosts Central America's largest annual Business Forum

Connecting the
future with you

and there's more to come

12 countries

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