A-Z of Russian TelecomAll articles

TOP-3 Russian Mobile Operators [20.02.07]

MTS (1)

With over 68.53 million mobile service subscribers in Russia and CIS, Mobile TeleSystems OJSC («MTS») is the largest mobile operator in Eurasia.  Besides Russia, the territory of its GSM coverage also includes Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, and totals over 230 million of population.  Sistema Telecom, a branch of AFK Sistema, owns 52.8% of MTS shares.  In other areas, in July 2000 the operator finalized its IPO and successfully listed its Level III ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange (“MBT”.)  In addition, MTS’ shares were listed on MICEX (Moscow) in November 2003, (“MTSI”.)  Its GDRs are also traded in Europe. MTS holds 34% of the market share in Russia, while in Ukraine, its was 42%, Belarus (52%), Uzbekistan (55%) and Turkmenistan (80%).  Based on the company’s information, MTS added some 3.05 million new (“organic growth”) subscribers during the second quarter of 2006 on a consolidated basis. 

Contact Information:

MTS

5 Vorontsovskaya Street, Bldg. 2
109147 Moscow, Russia
Tel: 7-495-223-2025
Fax: 7-495-911-6588
e-mail: ir@mts.ru
www.mts.ru

Contact: Mr. Leonid Melamed, President & CEO

VimpelCom (2)

Founded in 1992 by a group of Russian scientists and engineers led by Dr. Dmitry Zimin, the VimpelCom Group (VCG) has become the second largest mobile operator in Russia.  VCG incorporates a number of mobile operators working in Russia and Kazakhstan.  It also acquired several mobile assets in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.  “Beeline” is the VCG’s brand in Russia and Kazakhstan. VCG is also using two other brands in Kazakhstan -- ‘K-mobile’ and ‘EXCESS’.  Presently, VCG’s cellular license portfolio encompasses 78 Russian regions, and other CIS countries, including Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia, covering the territory with about 237 million people.  VimpelCom has introduced two digital cellular communications standards in Russia: D-AMPS and GSM-900/1800.  99.6% of VimpleCom’s subscribers use GSM standard.  It provides interconnections with other fixed and mobile networks and access to roaming - all under contract and prepaid payment plans. During 2005, VimpelCom’s revenues exceeded USD3 billion, and market capitalization reached about USD 9 billion.  As of September 1, 2006, VimpelCom provided cellular services to some 51.9 million of Russian subscribers (includes 4.4 million CIS subscribers.)  Among other accomplishments of VimpelCom is the listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in November 1996, which was the first precendent for a Russian company.  According to iKS-Consulting report, VimpelCom is also leading among other mobile operators in terms of development of its transportation network.  The operator pioneered GPRS based services in 2001, and by the end of 2005 about 4 million subscribers used its GPRS services on the territory spanning through over 75 regions.  In addition, VimpelCom launched its EDGE technology in the end of 2004 and since then offers it to more than 15 regions.

Contact Information:

VimpelCom
10, 8 Marta Street,
127083, Moscow, Russia
Tel: 7-495-725-0700 (for general information)
Fax: 7-495-721-0017
e-mail: Investor_Relations@VimpelCom.com
Contact: Mr. Alexander Izosimov, President & CEO
Mr. Valery P. Goldin, Vice President, International and Investor Relations

MegaFon (3)

MegaFon was founded in 2002  as a result of renaming and change in North West GSM and merger with Sonic Duo (Moscow), MobiCom-Kavkaz, Mobcom-Centre, Mobicom-Novosibirsk, Mobicom-Khabarovsk, Mobicom-Kirov, MSS-Povolzhie, Volga-GSM and Urals-GSM.  The operator has a nation-wide license for providing GSM 900/1800 services.  The major shareholders include TelecomInvest (31.3%), Sonera Holding B.V.(26%), CT-Mobile (25.1%), Telia International AB (6.37%), Telia International Management AB (1.73%), IPOC International Growth Fund Limited (8.0%) and Contact-C (1.5%).  According to results from the first half of 2006, the third largest mobile operator MegaFon was the most profitable.  Renaissance Capital believes that during the first half of 2006 MegaFon's profitability grew at 20.6%, an increase of 2.3% over the same period last year.   Its rivals, MTS and VimpelCom have 15.6% and 18.6% respectively.  Analysts believe that behind this success lies MegaFon’s well crafted strategy and lucrative pricing plans.

Contact Information:

MegaFon Moscow
27 Vyatskaya Street, Bld. 42
127015, Moscow, Russia
Tel: 7- 495-504-5020
Fax: 7-495-504-5021
e-mail: ir@megafon.ru
www.megafon.ru
Contact: Mr. Sergey Soldatenkov, General Director