Celcom Axiata Berhad, DBA Celcom, is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom is a member of the Axiata group of companies. Celcom was merged with Digi to formed CelcomDigi on 1 December 2022. Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone license, it successfully introduced mobile telephony in Malaysia through its ART-900 (Automatic Radio Telephone) service, using first-generation (analogue) ETACS (Extended Total Access Communication System) specifications of the United Kingdom, a derivative of the US-AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) technology. The ETACS ART-900 was started using the prefix "010". Celcom now uses the dialling prefix identifier of "013" and "019" and offer digital GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile), an originally European standard, now largely a world standard for mobile communications. The original frequency band for GSM is 900 MHz and was soon extended to 1800 MHz to cater for much wider bandwidth requirements. The 2100 MHz band is used for their dual-channel HSPA+ network. Celcom is also licensed and has been operating FDD-LTE on 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz. Through the Mobile Number Portability by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia, Celcom also provides Virtual Mobile Operator services. The company also provides rural communications services using CDMA Technology and Satellite Phone. History Celcom started its operation as STM Cellular Communications in 1988 with Fleet Group (then-parent company of TV3, NSTP, and Bank of Commerce Berhad/BCB) and Telekom Malaysia as shareholders. Subsequently, Telekom Malaysia sold its 51% shareholding to the TRI group, which was controlled by Tajudin Ramli. Fleet Group's share was transferred to the which was later sold to TRI. In the initial years, Celcom experienced tremendous growth in subscriber base and network coverage under the stewardship of Rosli Man, the President of the company. It was during his tenure that Celcom turned into the leading cellular company in Malaysia. Rosli Man left Celcom in 1996. When the cellular phone market was opened up in 1995, Celcom upgraded to the GSM900 service and quickly grew to become the largest mobile phone company in Malaysia. Competition soon set in, and several digital mobile carriers competed for market dominance of the cellular phone industry. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Celcom's owner, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli suffered a debt crunch, and his shareholding in Celcom was seized by Danaharta, the national asset restructuring company. Failure to resolve his debts resulted in the controlling stake in