Posts Tagged Russia
Svyazinvest sees 6.5% rise in full-year profit (Russia)
Russia’s state telecoms holding company Svyazinvest has reported a 6.5% increase in net profit for full-year 2008 under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) to RUB27 billion (USD747 million). Sales climbed 3.6% to RUB253 billion, while EBITDA rose 12% to RUB82 billion. The Svyazinvest group incorporates seven mega-regional fixed line operators which control around 32.5 million lines and 3.3 million broadband internet accounts between them; its cellular operations claimed a total of twelve million customers at end-2008.
Add comment February 4, 2009
Shyam Telelink becomes Sistema Shyam TeleServices; considering CDMA acquisitions (India)
Indian CDMA operator Shyam Telelink has announced that it has formally changed its name to Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTS). SSTS is a joint venture between Russian conglomerate Sistema and the Shyam Group of India. Commenting on the name change SSTS CEO, Vsevolod Rozanov, said, ‘Sistema is the majority shareholder in this venture with Shyam Group being the other partner. As our name suggests, we envisage optimizing this synergy of two players from different countries with a clear-cut focus on becoming a strong telecom player in India.’
In separate but related news SSTS has said it is considering acquisitions of other CDMA businesses in a bid to increase the speed of its pan-India rollout. Having announced a target date of mid-2010 for the completion of its country-wide rollout, Mr Rozanov said the operator will look at any opportunities to acquire other CDMA-based operators. SSTS launched services in the Rajasthan circle in October 2008, and has said it will begin commercial operations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala by March 2009. It hopes to complete rollouts in at least ten circles by the end of the year.
Add comment February 2, 2009
BRIC Economies to Experience Strong Mobile User Growth, Reaching 1.64bn by 2013
The increasing availability of broadband-enabled mobile networks, aided by falling prices of sophisticated handsets and data charges, will underpin continued strong growth in mobile phone usage in Brazil, Russia, India and China (collectively referred to as the BRIC markets), from 1.21 billion in 2008 to 1.64 billion by 2013, according to a report published by Juniper Research.
Aided by the existing strong mutual interdependence and trading partnerships between these four countries – which are tapped to become the largest economies in the world by 2050 – this growth in mobile services uptake will be able to defy the general economic slowdown and recession that is already affecting other markets and regions arguably more exposed to fluctuating capital market conditions.
Add comment January 28, 2009
MTS reaches a subscriber base of 91.33Mn (Russia)
MTS, Russia’s leading mobile operator, has added 1.66 million new subscribers in the month of December’08, reaching the mark of 91.33 million subscribers. MTS subscribers in Russia totalled to 64.63 million, rising by 1.36 million at November end. MTS added 0.27 million subscribers in Moscow and reached the total of 14.91 million at December end. Subscribers in the rest of Russia totalled 46.46 million. In Ukraine, MTS added 12,000 subscribers in December, totalling to 18.115 million. MTS also has 5.65 million subscribers in Uzbekistan, 0.93 million in Turkmenistan, 2.02 million in Armenia and 4.32 million in Belarus.
Add comment January 21, 2009
MTS announces subscriber adds (Russia)
Russia’s largest cellco MTS added 1.36 million net new users to its domestic networks in December, taking its total customer base in Russia to 64.63 million. The firm also has consolidated operations in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Armenia, with 91.33 million consolidated subscribers across the entire group at end-December, up from 89.68 million a month before. In addition, the unconsolidated subsidiary MTS Belarus has 4.32 million users, up from 4.23 million at 30 November.
Add comment January 20, 2009
Russia’s MTS picks Huawei for 3G Armenia network
MTS, Russia’s largest mobile phone service provider, has selected China’s Huawei Technologies to supply gear for its third-generation (3G) network in Armenia, the Russian company said on Friday. MTS said in a statement Huawei, China’s largest telecoms equipment maker, will supply base stations and controllers but gave no size of the contract. The carrier, part of services conglomerate Sistema, plans to launch the network this spring.
Add comment January 19, 2009
Comstar Soft Launches WiMAX Network in Moscow
Russia’s Comstar has soft launched a wireless broadband network in Moscow, which is based on standard 802.16e WiMAX technology. The full commercial launch of the wireless network using the 2.5-2.7 GHz frequency range and based on Nortel technological solutions is expected to be implemented in the second quarter of 2009.Comstar invested approximately US$20 million in the project during 2008.The ongoing use of Comstar’s mobile WiMAX network will be free of charge during the test phase. Subscribers participating in the trial will be charged RUR 4,600 (US$146) for a USB compatible WiMAX adapter, and pre-pay a monthly fee of RUR 200 (US$6.30) for the first month of use following the full commercial launch of the WiMAX network. Participating subscribers will then also be eligible for a discounted ongoing tariff plan of RUR 200 from the date of the commercial launch for 2 gigabytes of internet traffic per month.
Details of the tariff plans subscribed after the end of the trial period following the full commercial launch will be announced in due course.Sergey Pridantsev, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comstar UTS, commented: The launch of mobile WiMAX services in Moscow makes Comstar a truly universal communications provider, offering a complete range of telecommunications services to customers in Moscow. The combination of the WiMAX network with our fixed line internet broadband access services enables us to create a unified communications space. Users will be able to remain connected at all times – at home, at work and on the move. The network will provide secure outdoor connection coverage across almost all of Moscow. We are meticulously testing the new WiMAX network prior to full commercial launch, in order to ensure the highest possible service and efficiency levels.
Add comment January 16, 2009
ETK’s Subscriber Base Exceeds 2Million (Krasnoyarsk Krai)
The customer base of ETK, the leading telecommunications company of Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Republic of Khkassia, has exceeded 2 million subscribers. Fully owned by Siberia’s largest telecommunications company Sibirtelecom and with 40% of the local market, ETK is the leading company in Krasnoyarsk Krai, far outpacing its federal competitors. Today, it runs GSM-900/1800 and IMT-MC 450 networks.
Add comment December 31, 2008
Russia’s MTS Brand Expands into India
India’s Shyam Telelink, which is controlled by Russia’s Sistema has announced plans to use the brand-name of the Russian mobile network operator, MTS in the Indian market. MTS is itself 52.8% majority-owned by Sistema. Sistema guaranteed US$520 million of the total US$630 million that Shyam Telelink paid for obtaining its operating licenses. The company recently used a call-option to increase its shareholding in India’s Shyam Telelink from 51% to 72% – just shy of the 74% which is permitted under Indian laws.
At STL, our endeavour is to provide world class affordable mobile services to the customers, said Mr. Vsevolod Rozanov, CEO, Shyam Telelink Limited. Coming to market with a fully developed and globally recognized brand will give us a clear competitive advantage in the marketplace. The MTS brand offers Shyam Telelink a valuable portfolio of marketing guidelines that will provide time and cost advantages. The universality of MTS’ brand values and the simplicity of its design will resonate well among potential customers in India, and we are confident that the brand will aid in the expansion of our business.
Add comment December 31, 2008
Etisalat wins Iran’s third national mobile licence
The government of Iran is thought to have awarded the country’s third national mobile licence to a consortium headed by UAE-based telco Etisalat. A report from CellularNews which cites Iran’s semi-official news agency FARS says that Etisalat has beaten off rival bids from the likes of Omantel of Oman plus MegaFon and Vimpelcom of Russia. The government has said that the new cellular operator is expected to attract investment of around USD3 billion. Iran currently has two national cellular networks run by state-backed operator TCI and private firm MTN-Irancell, which have around 40 million customers between them. Another operator, Taliya, operates a sizeable regional network which serves around 1.5 million users, while there are also at least two other localised mobile networks with only a few thousand subscribers each.
Add comment December 26, 2008
3G deployment in Moscow faces further delays
Although the three 3G licence holders – MTS, Vimpelcom and MegaFon – have already deployed the necessary technology, a commercial rollout of services faces further delays as the Russian military has still not freed up UMTS frequencies. The Moscow Times cited comments from Alexander Malis, Vimpelcom’s director for broadband development , who said, ’First, the military promised to free the frequencies by 1 September this year. Now, they said it would be first quarter of next year…The excuses given varied from time to time, but the probable reason is that those making the decision lack any sense of urgency.’
Add comment December 15, 2008
