Millicom International Cellular S.A.
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| Public | |
| Traded as | Nasdaq Stockholm: MIC_SDB |
| Industry | Telecommunications, Media |
| Founded | 1990 in Stockholm |
| Headquarters | 2 Rue du Fort Bourbon, Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
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Area served
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Africa, Hispanic America |
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Key people
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Cristina Stenbeck, (Chairman) Mauricio Ramos, (CEO) |
| Products | Mobile, cable, satellite, pay-TV, broadband, Mobile Financial Services, B2B and online services |
| Revenue | $7.2 billion in 2015 |
| Total assets | $10.36 billion (2016) |
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Number of employees
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15,800 |
| Website | Millicom |
Millicom International Cellular SA is an international telecommunications and media company. It offers a wide range of digital services to more than 63 million customers primarily under the Tigo brand in fourteen markets in Africa and Latin America. Its online partnerships are active in more than 40 markets.
Millicom was one of the earliest pioneers of mass consumer mobile telephony and was formed in 1990 when Millicom Incorporated merged with the Swedish investment company Industriforvaltnings AP Kinnevik. Since then, the firm has seen annual revenue grow to $7.2billion, driven mainly by mobile phone services and, increasingly, by data, with an expanding portfolio of cable, satellite, broadband, e-commerce, Mobile Financial Services, B2B and other media.
In March 2015 it was announced that Mauricio Ramos, formerly of Liberty Global, would become the company's new Chief Executive starting April 1, 2015.
The same year, Millicom announced a new business strategy around monetizing data and building cable, with the stated ambition to become the 2nd largest Pay-TV operator in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Millicom's cable footprint grew in 2015 to 7.6 million homes passed and is expected to exceed 8 million by the end of 2016.
The company's Mobile Financial Services account for more than 40 per cent of the total number of active mobile money subscribers in Latin America. In Africa, Millicom set up the continent's first ever universal interoperable mobile money network through its Tigo Pesa brand in Tanzania that includes Airtel, Zantel and Vodacom. Tanzania is considered to be a world leader in terms of mobile money customization.
Millicom employs 15,800 people, has corporate offices in London, Miami and Luxembourg, and is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the symbol MIC_SDB.
Millicom originated as a company set up by Jan Stenbeck to operate voice and data distribution networks via cellular radio. In Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. it received one of three of the first cellular development licenses awarded by the FCC.
After two years of planning, the company began operations when the founders completed a $131,000 share purchase in May 1982. The firm took over paging company, Meta Systems in October 1982 and then raised $9 million in its first round of financing, managed by Chief Executive Officer, Orhan Sadik-Khan and Kevin Kimberlin.
Since 92% of the world population had no phone service at the time, Millicom promoted mobile technology on a global basis. To do this, Millicom created joint-ventures with local and strategic partners.
On December 13, 1982, a joint-venture with Racal Electronics was awarded a cellular license for Great Britain. To enable Millicom to earn its 10% royalty from Racal-Millicom, a controlling shareholder, Stenbeck commissioned a start up with two employees, Technophone, to develop the world’s first pocket-sized mobile phone. Highlighting its plans to offer the Voice and Data phone (predecessor to the smart phone), his Racal-Millicom joint-venture was renamed Vodafone.
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