Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat

An entrepreneur as well as a philanthropist, Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat has committed much of his career to helping rebuild his native Afghanistan. Dr. Bayat left the country in the 1980s to pursue his education, earning his bachelor of science in engineering technology from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1986. Although he did not return to Afghanistan until after the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001, Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat worked for the greater good of his native country for years before that, establishing Florida-based telecommunications company Telephone Systems International, Inc., in 1998 for the purpose of developing a commercial telephone network in Afghanistan.

Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat realized this goal in 2002 with the establishment of the Afghan Wireless Communications Company. A partnership between the Afghan Ministry of Communications and Telephone Systems International, Afghan Wireless represents the first mobile telephone company in the country and the only company to provide mobile telephone service in all the provinces in Afghanistan. As such, the company connects more than 4 million Afghans with friends, relatives, and business associates throughout Afghanistan and the world, contributing to the success of numerous businesses, the establishment of many more, the growth of new industries, and the continued rejuvenation of Afghanistan as a center for culture and art in Central Asia. Perhaps most importantly, through the founding of Afghan Wireless, Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat has given the Afghan people a means through which to build relationships with family and friends, regardless of distance.

In a continuation of his work with Afghan Wireless, Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat founded the Ariana Radio and Television Network (ATN) in 2005. Created under the same mission statement as his other two businesses, ATN endeavors to be a “window for a better tomorrow.” The network currently broadcasts news, sports, education, and cultural programming to 20 million Afghan citizens in 33 of the 34 provinces.