ATLANTA-Intec Telecom Systems has deployed its Interconnect billing solution with Russian wireless telecommunications provider VimpelCom. The solution now supports VimpelCom's 17 interconnect billing partners in Moscow, and plans are under way to roll out the solution across all of VimpelCom's mobile operations in Russia,...
MOSCOW, Russia-The overall mobile penetration in Russia reached 15.3 percent of the population, or 22.23 million users, in April, according to newly released statistics from Moscow-based consultancy J'son & Partners.Gross additions in April in the country were 930,000, with Mobile Telesystems leading in terms...
MOSCOW-Russia' second-biggest carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) will finally launch in St. Petersburg next week and plans to borrow close to US$100 million in the domestic market for further regional expansion.Vimpelcom is the last among the "big troika" of national carriers to launch a commercial GSM...
MOSCOW-Russia witnessed a 21.12 million phone users at the end of march, representing a 17-percent jump from the end of 2002, according to telecom consultancy AC&M.Most of the net additions happened in this city. Carrier Vimpelcom had the lion's share nationwide, with MTS closing...
MOSCOW-The Arabic Thuraya satellite communications company said it is ready to launch a free service in Russia in March. The service will be free because Thuraya has not yet agreed on building a ground station necessary for commercial operation.The Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based...
OSLO, Norway-Norway's Telenor said it sold its 49-percent stake in Russian regional operator StavTeleSot to Russian mobile company VimpelCom for $20.9 million. VimpelCom now has 90 percent of StavTelesot.Telenor said the transaction will give it a financial gain of about $9.3 million.Telenor said the...
MOSCOW-Biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) was stunned to see its database of clients sold on pirate CD across Moscow and launched an investigation among the staff.The CD containing private data on some 3 million Moscow clients of the company, including their account numbers,...
MOSCOW-The Russian Ministry for Anti-Monopolist Policy (MAP), which last year ordered the major national communications holding company Svyazinvest to dispose of non-core wireless assets, changed its mind and allowed the holding to play a role in the mobile market.In February 2002, Svyazinvest completed the...
MOSCOW-Russia's second-largest wireless carrier, Vimpelcom (BeeLine), purchased 100 percent of the East-West Telecom Co., which holds GSM licenses for 12 regions of the greater Urals.Until the buy, Vimpelcom only ran a GSM 900/1800 MHz network in the Ural region of Orenburg. The deal, valued...
MOSCOW—The second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) said its subsidiary Vimpelcom-Region, created to promote nationwide expansion, received US$175.44 million in investments. The funds were provided by BeeLine, the Alfa-Group Holding and Norwegian telecom company Telenor, which contributed US$58.48 million each.The deal was timed to the...
MOSCOW-Russia's biggest carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) again delayed the launch of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) into commercial operation because of a lack of demand. The carrier initially planned the launch for December 2000, but it has postponed it several times since then. "We've...
MOSCOW-The biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has reportedly reached a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Ukraine's second-biggest operator Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC).UMC shareholders include government-owned Ukrtelecom (51 percent), Deutsche Telekom, Danish TDC, and Dutch KPN, with 16.33 percent each.The Vedomosti business...
MOSCOW-Russian Communications Minister Leonid Reiman promised to grant nationwide GSM licenses to three major carriers-Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Vimpelcom (BeeLine) and MegaFon.The news is important for the first two carriers, which have not received any regional licenses since 1998 and have expanded to provinces by...
MOSCOW-Siemens and the Russian Development Bank (RBR) announced an ambitious plan to invest US$6 billion in the coming five to 10 years into the creation of a pan-Russian Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) network.RBR, which acts as the financial consultant for the TETRA project, predicted...
KAZAN, Tatarstan, Russia-Two regional carriers from the Russian Muslim republic of Tatarstan on the Volga offered stock for public sale, forcing the biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) to reconsider its plans to enter the local market where it currently lacks a license.MTS was...
MOSCOW-The biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) finally launched a GSM 900/1800 MHz network in Belarus, thus making its first step into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) uniting 12 former Soviet republics.MTS, whose launch was delayed by Belarussian red tape for two months,...
MOSCOW-Russia will not issue third-generation (3G) licenses this year, and the earliest possible award date is the beginning of 2003. However, everything will depend on the presence of the necessary equipment, according to Communications Minister Leonid Reiman."Initially we were promised that equipment would come...
MOSCOW-Ericsson will supply equipment to expand the GSM 900/1800 MHz networks of the second-biggest Russian carrier, Vimpelcom (BeeLine), in three Russian regions.According to the contract, Ericsson will supply a commutation center, base station controllers and more than 200 base stations, as well as General...
MOSCOW—The Norwegian Telenor is going to sell two of its Russian subsidiaries, and the second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom, in which Telenor holds a major stake, is the most likely buyer.Telenor is planning to sell its 49-percent stakes in Extel from the Baltic enclave of...
MOSCOW—The second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) placed its first euro bonds worth US$250 million to finance network expansion across Russia.Vimpelcom Vice President Valery Goldin said the bonds will mature in three years, and the coupon yield of 10.45 percent annual will be paid twice...
MOSCOW—Russian company Accord-Tel announced plans to create the fifth pan-Russian wireless network with the use of cdma2000 technology based on the International Mobile Telecommunications-Multi Carrier (IMT-MC) standard.Four pan-Russian GSM networks are being created by Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Vimpelcom (BeeLine), Megafon and MCT Corporation (Indigo)....
MOSCOW—Second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) launched its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) into commercial operation in April after several delays caused by a lack of clients.Vimpelcom, which boasts more than 2 million subscribers, was the first Russian carrier to launch free promotional operation of...
MOSCOW—Third-generation (3G) licenses will be issued in Russia only after the law on communications is amended, according to First Deputy Communications Minister Yuri Pavlenko."The 3G Association has carried out the necessary research and prepared the required documents. However, the legislative base for the introduction...
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Swedish company Tele 2 denied plans to sell the St. Petersburg-based FORA Communications AMPS carrier, which combines operators St. Petersburg Telecom and Oblcom."We are not going to sell FORA. On the contrary, we are planning to develop it and create a third...
