Ukraine became an independent nation in 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, of which it was previously a republic. In that year, in the city of Yalta two Ascom Autelca magnetic cards were already in use, but they were issued in 1990, when the city was in U.R.S.S., and therefore can not be considered Ukrainian emissions. The Utel company, founded in 1992, initially used the existing telephone sets, and in 1994 issued the first custom cards with the company name: one with 100 units and one with 200, each with a circulation of 30,000 copies. The magnetic cards were used until 1998, when the phones with chip technology were installed; finally, in 2005, Utel was absorbed by Ukrtelecom.
