MegaFon Life — The Choice of 355,000 Subscribers
4 december 2025
In less than 18 months, MegaFon-Tajikistan managed to bring over 300,000 subscribers back to its network, while users gained two key advantages: affordable roaming despite soaring mobile internet prices, and a virtual wallet with online payment capabilities—critical in a country where ATM cash withdrawal fees are exorbitant and acquiring infrastructure is underdeveloped.
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MegaFon-Tajikistan has a subscriber base of 1.5 million people, a portion of whom are relatives of labor migrants. The timely launch of the MegaFon Life messenger—integrated with the GSM network and built on Eastwind’s Polyphone digital services platform—allowed both sides to stay connected.
As mobile service prices rose, labor migrants quickly recognized the value of the roaming package. Although the operator initially focused on outdoor advertising (public transport, billboards, taxis) and mobile promotions (SMS, USSD), word of mouth launched a parallel campaign, spreading the news about free incoming calls while roaming and low-cost outgoing calls to any GSM number in Tajikistan—offered at the most competitive rates in the country. Within just six months, the app had 116,000 registered users.
While abroad, labor migrants gained the ability to send their earnings home with minimal fees and no exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations. Additionally, MegaFon relieved their relatives of the need to search for payment terminals or the few ATMs—most of which are concentrated in the capital. Instead, the company offered a more cost-effective online payment solution with features like scheduled autopayments and QR code support. Financial transaction security was ensured through PIN-code login, Touch ID and Face ID authentication, and recovery via backup contacts.
With a MegaFon Life mobile account, users outside Tajikistan could, in just a few clicks, pay for government services, shopping, fines, and family loan repayments from anywhere in the world. The app also enabled QR code payments at partner merchants, microloans issued via scoring and credited directly to the mobile account, and the registration of up to three mobile numbers via passport scan—without visiting a service center. The rollout of the financial module added another 100,000 users to the app.
The most dramatic surge in subscriber activity within the messenger was recorded in April 2019, when internet prices rose sharply in Tajikistan. MegaFon Life, with its capability to make calls from the app to GSM numbers, became the only means for migrants to stay in touch with their families back home. For MegaFon-Tajikistan subscribers, data traffic within the app was free. In contrast, users of other local operators had to pay per megabyte according to their provider's rates.
This widespread adoption by Tajik migrants and their families was a logical outcome of Eastwind’s coordinated efforts. The company’s experts accurately anticipated telecom market trends in Tajikistan and developed a high-tech solution that fully met user needs. As of June this year, MegaFon Life had attracted 310,000 users—one-third of whom were actively using the app and generating measurable revenue for the operator.
Since the introduction of the financial module at the end of last year, downloads from Google Play doubled—from 186,000 to 355,000. The operator's monthly revenue also doubled, now reaching six figures, clearly demonstrating both the platform’s rapid return on investment and its strategic value for the operator.
Operator Benefits:
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Results of the MegaFon Life Rollout
Staying Connected
Every time the US dollar rises in value, Tajikistan—heavily dependent on imports—sees its trade deficit grow, government foreign currency spending increase, and prices for essential goods soar. According to an official statement by Jamshed Nurmahmadzoda, Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan, the country ended 2018 with a negative trade balance of $2.1 billion. In early March 2019, the country's antimonopoly agency ordered all operators to raise prices for mobile services, NGN telephony, and mobile internet.MegaFon-Tajikistan has a subscriber base of 1.5 million people, a portion of whom are relatives of labor migrants. The timely launch of the MegaFon Life messenger—integrated with the GSM network and built on Eastwind’s Polyphone digital services platform—allowed both sides to stay connected.
As mobile service prices rose, labor migrants quickly recognized the value of the roaming package. Although the operator initially focused on outdoor advertising (public transport, billboards, taxis) and mobile promotions (SMS, USSD), word of mouth launched a parallel campaign, spreading the news about free incoming calls while roaming and low-cost outgoing calls to any GSM number in Tajikistan—offered at the most competitive rates in the country. Within just six months, the app had 116,000 registered users.
Money Loves a Mobile Account
Within just six months of launching MegaFon Life, the operator grew its subscriber base by 15%, successfully bringing back migrants who had switched to local SIM cards. In December, Eastwind developers added a financial module to the messenger—a mobile wallet supporting all types of payments with reasonable transaction fees. This addition addressed the lack of payment terminals in stores, the limited number of accessible ATMs, and the extremely high cash withdrawal fees across the country.While abroad, labor migrants gained the ability to send their earnings home with minimal fees and no exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations. Additionally, MegaFon relieved their relatives of the need to search for payment terminals or the few ATMs—most of which are concentrated in the capital. Instead, the company offered a more cost-effective online payment solution with features like scheduled autopayments and QR code support. Financial transaction security was ensured through PIN-code login, Touch ID and Face ID authentication, and recovery via backup contacts.
With a MegaFon Life mobile account, users outside Tajikistan could, in just a few clicks, pay for government services, shopping, fines, and family loan repayments from anywhere in the world. The app also enabled QR code payments at partner merchants, microloans issued via scoring and credited directly to the mobile account, and the registration of up to three mobile numbers via passport scan—without visiting a service center. The rollout of the financial module added another 100,000 users to the app.
Readiness Level One
Subscribers can manage their current tariffs and service options, activate or deactivate features, monitor remaining service balances, and redeem accumulated bonuses for free minutes and SMS packages through the loyalty program—all from their personal account. The ability to pay for telecom services, utilities, loans, fines, taxes, and purchases online—including QR code payments at merchant locations—drove further user adoption and delivered proportionally increasing revenue for the operator.The most dramatic surge in subscriber activity within the messenger was recorded in April 2019, when internet prices rose sharply in Tajikistan. MegaFon Life, with its capability to make calls from the app to GSM numbers, became the only means for migrants to stay in touch with their families back home. For MegaFon-Tajikistan subscribers, data traffic within the app was free. In contrast, users of other local operators had to pay per megabyte according to their provider's rates.
This widespread adoption by Tajik migrants and their families was a logical outcome of Eastwind’s coordinated efforts. The company’s experts accurately anticipated telecom market trends in Tajikistan and developed a high-tech solution that fully met user needs. As of June this year, MegaFon Life had attracted 310,000 users—one-third of whom were actively using the app and generating measurable revenue for the operator.
By the Numbers
Eastwind analysts tracked user activity growth in MegaFon Life at three key intervals—June 2018, December 2018, and June 2019—and observed that downloads have grown exponentially every six months since the platform's launch.Since the introduction of the financial module at the end of last year, downloads from Google Play doubled—from 186,000 to 355,000. The operator's monthly revenue also doubled, now reaching six figures, clearly demonstrating both the platform’s rapid return on investment and its strategic value for the operator.
«The MegaFon Life app, powered by Polyphone, represents a new standard in telecom messengers and serves as a monetizable business platform with multiple revenue streams, including partnerships with banks and retailers. What drives business adoption is direct access to a consumer audience of 300,000 to 400,000 active users, a loyal B2F environment, opportunities for placement in a partner catalog, user engagement and brand loyalty building via public channels, as well as a bot platform that enables the development of sales-driven bots for Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber, and VK».
Artyom Kirishchev
Sales Director, Eastwind
Sales Director, Eastwind
What Is Polyphone
Polyphone is a digital platform developed by Eastwind, consisting of three complementary and fully configurable modules, all managed through a unified interface.
Must-Have for Subscribers:
Must-Have for Subscribers:
- All essential services in one app—always at your fingertips.
- An intuitive messenger offering all communication types for Android and iOS smartphone users: affordable roaming, in-app calls to GSM numbers, connectivity without a SIM card or coverage, a virtual wallet with online/offline payments, and access to microloans.
Operator Benefits:
- The only way to retain subscribers—and profit from it.
- A business platform for digital services with extensive monetization capabilities: GSM integration, broad coverage, subscriber base growth, revenue from all transactions, access to government, banking, and retail sectors, and a tool for advancing the country's digital economy.