Fondin
Fondin is a telecommunications company in Kulpania, based in Castul, Nunnex. The company began operations on 15th May 2006, originally under the name of Fondiso. Fondin has 3G coverage nation-wide, 4G coverage serving 87% of the population, and 5G coverage in twenty-seven cities in Kulpania. The company is currently in the process of developing their 5G network, with plans to serve fifty-nine cities with the technology by 2022.
History
Fondiso launched its 3G network on 15th May 2006, two years later than the country's largest telecommunications operator, Dísdísa Cúlbanot. At this time, 3G coverage was available in southern Kulpania only, and only in certain metropolitan areas. However, over the next four years, the company continued to expand its 3G coverage as its customer numbers grew, and by late 2010 the company claimed to have covered all of Kulpania with 3G. This claim has since been disputed, most notably because Fondiso did not, and still does not, serve the Isle of Blak at all, and their 3G coverage in the country's most rural areas is very poor and unreliable.
On 12th September 2011, the company changed its name to Fondin to mark the beginning of the development of the company's 4G network. By February 2012, 4G coverage was available in central Dalow and parts of Artun, and by the end of the year, coverage was available in Oloton, Castul, Katril, and Lowtah. After this initial stage of development, however, progress on the company's 4G network slowed, with just four more cities receiving coverage by the end of 2013 - Qústa, Tondil, Towta, and Nintón.
After the launch of Sotminaca on 3rd March 2014, Fondin rapidly increased the rollout of their 4G network, with thirty-eight cities being served by the end of the year, along with the entirety of Juttex, Minletor, and Tolcator. By the end of 2015, the company served 44% of the country's population with 4G coverage, and they continued to develop their 4G infrastructure for the next four years. The company relocated from their previous headquarters in Artun on 17th August 2016 to their current location in Castul.
Fondin announced the beginnings of their 5G network on 14th November 2018, and by 1st January 2019, Fondin offered 5G coverage in central Castul. They continued to develop their network over 2019, offering coverage in eighteen Kulpanian cities by the end of the year. Since this time, Fondin has launched its 5G coverage in fifteen more cities, and they have plans to launch in eleven more by the end of 2021.
Current network
At present, Fondin operates a national 3G network, a widespread 4G network, and 5G coverage in twenty-seven cities. They have an agreement with Dísdísa Cúlbanot to allow Fondin customers to use their 2G network, and an agreement with KL-Fon to use their 3G and 4G coverage on the Isle of Blak. Fondin is the third-largest telecommunications operator in Kulpania, falling behind Dísdísa Cúlbanot and KL-Fon, however Fondin's 4G and 5G networks cover the largest proportion of the population.
As Fondin is the third-largest telecommunications operator, they have the third-largest block assigned for mobile numbers: all numbers fall in the range of 9-700-xxx-xxxx to 9-849-xxx-xxxx. The company has repeatedly requested a larger range of numbers as their customer base has grown, but their requests have never been successful.
Fondin has an agreement with the global telecommunications operator Phontruse to allow Fondin customers to use Phontruse networks at no extra cost, allowing Fondin customers to use their allowances at standard rates in forty-eight countries worldwide. This agreement makes Fondin the fastest-growing telecommunications company in Kulpania, as no other Kulpanian operator has a similar agreement.