The company "Ukrainian Mobile Communications" (UMC) has the opportunity in the coming year to independently provide international and long-distance telephone communication services, the company reported. \n \nThe license allowing the provision of these services took effect on January 1, 2005. Currently, UMC does not have its own external communication channels and provides international communication services on the basis of an agreement with the international communication operator "Utel" - a subsidiary of the national communication operator OJSC "Ukrtelecom". \n \nEarlier, UMC General Director Eric Franke, commenting on obtaining the license, told journalists that the company would provide these services independently and had already begun construction of the corresponding telecommunications infrastructure. \n \nUMC's main competitor - CJSC "Kyivstar GSM" - had previously obtained a license for international and long-distance communication. \n \nThe cost of such a license throughout the territory of Ukraine is 8.993 million hryvnias. \n \nIn addition to UMC and "Kyivstar", similar licenses are held by: "Ukrtelecom", "Utel", LLC "Golden Telecom", LLC "Digital Communication Systems of Ukraine" (Donetsk, trademark DCC), the company "Telesystems of Ukraine", "Ukrainian Communications" (part of the structure of the Dnipropetrovsk holding telecommunications company "Optima"), "Ucomline" (part of the Odesa telecommunications holding "Farlep") and "International Telecommunications". \n