Russian Telecom articles from January 2002

Russian Telecom archives from January 2002

Telecommunications Spending by Region, 2000 and 2004 (in billions).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Telecommunications Spending by Region, 2000 and 2004 (in billions) 2000 2004 US 609.2 954 Western Europe 351.7 496 Asia Pacific 345.4 717 Eastern Europe 102.5 167.1...

Alcatel wins a US$8.8 million GSM contract. (Top Story).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Alcatel has won contracts to upgrade five Russian GSM networks operated by SMARTS (Middle-Volga Interregional Association of Radio/Telecommunication Systems). The contract is valued at US$8.8 million. The expansion is expected to increase...

MTS to buy Kuban GSM. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... TeleSystems, a cellular operator, has agreed terms to buy control of Kuban GSM, a fourth operator, but the size of the stake was undetermined. The acquisition of Kuban GSM, which operates in a lucrative market, the southern Black Sea...

Vimpelcom to launch services in Novosibirsk and Rostov. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Vimpelcom, a mobile operator, is looking to expand its reach, as it is set to launch services in the cities of Novosibirsk and Rostov-on-Don on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 respectively. In addition, by the end of January, Vimpelcom expects to have...

BtN launches VPN solution for ISPs and local Telecom carriers. (Russia).(Beyond the Network's MPLSVPN.net service)
January 1, 2002... Beyond the Network (BtN), an Internet backbone provider wholly owned by PCCW offering end-to-end IP-based communications solutions, launched MPLSVPN.net, the first wholesale solution designed to facilitate international data connectivity over...

Telenetics sees major opportunities in growing Russian market. (Russia).
January 1, 2002... Telenetics Corp., a wired and wireless data transmission and network access products provider, reported that sales of its Sunrise Series Products in Russia and other former Soviet Republics surpassed $1 million in 2001, and disclosed that it...

Vimpelcom to seek loan from ERBD for network build. (Russia).
January 1, 2002... The regional arm of cellular operator Vimpelcom is considering a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in order to finance rollout plans for networks outside Moscow. "Vimpelcom is working on a Eurobond. Another way...

Megafon awarded GSM license in Central Russia. (Russia).
January 1, 2002... Megafon, a mobile joint venture, has been awarded a GSM-900/1800 license for Central Russia by the Ministry of Communications. Megafon is backed by Sonera, Telia, Telecominvest, a St. Petersburg-based telecoms holding company, and CT-Mobile,...

TransTelecom to link with Finland's Railtelia. (Russia).
January 1, 2002... TransTelecom, an operator building a network along the country's rail infrastructure, will interconnect its network with Railtelia, a Finnish operator. A new cable joining the two networks is scheduled for completion in the second quarter...

Telia to raise stakes in Russia and Baltic states. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Sweden's Telia would like to raise its stakes in Baltic and Russian operators, the head of Telia's mobile unit Kenneth Karlberg said. Telia now owns 24.5 percent in Estonian fixed-line and mobile operator Eesti Telekom and 24.5 percent in...

TransTelecom completes a US$1 billion network. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... TransTelecom, which is building a telecoms network along Russia's national rail infrastructure, has completed its 45,000 km backbone. The company has invested close to US$1 billion in the network. First Deputy Railways Minister Alexander...

Russian cellular industry shows strong performance. (Russia).(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The Russian cellular phone industry has demonstrated a strong performance in the last 1824 months, although nationwide cellular penetration remains low. Cellular operators are implementing new technologies, including wireless application...

PTS changes names to Northwest Telecom. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... St. Petersburg ground-line telephone service provider Petersburg Telephone Network (PTS) has changed its name to Northwest Telecom. According to the company's press-service, the decision was made at a shareholders' meeting held in November...

MTS increases 50,000 GSM subscribers in St. Petersburg. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mobile Telesystems (MTS), a GSM-900/1800 standard cellular operator, has increased the number of its subscribers in St. Petersburg to over 50,000. The company said it is adding several base stations daily to its network in St. Petersburg...

Russia to issue tenders for 3G licenses. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Telecoms Minister Leonid Reiman has said that Russian third-generation (3G) licenses will be issued on the basis of tenders rather than by auction. He added that an interdepartmental tender commission will be set up for issuing 3G...

MGTS to introduce time-based telephone billing system. (Russia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... MGTS plans to introduce time-based telephone billing for Moscow residents in the second half of 2002 to replace the current fixed tariff for unlimited local calls. The move is likely to lead to a further consolidation in the Moscow dial-up...

Second GSM operator launches equipment tender. (Belarus).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The state-owned company Mezdugorodnaya Sviaz and MTC have announced a tender for the delivery of equipment for the second Belarusian GSM-standard mobile operator. Bidders must submit their offers not later than Feb. 4, 2002. A tender...

Ericsson Croatia to supply GSM network equipment. (Bosnia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Croatian unit of Ericsson has signed a 9 million euro contract to supply equipment for a GSM network in neighboring Bosnia. The accord signed with state-owned PTT Sarajevo envisages delivery and implementation of base stations for the...

Ericsson signs deal with PTT Sarajevo. (Croatia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Ericsson Nikola Tesla, the Croatian arm of Ericsson, has signed a nine million euro agreement with PTT Sarajevo to deliver and set up GSM base stations and the accompanying telecoms infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Siemens to expand and modernize Cesky Telecom's Network. (Czech).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Siemens Information and Communications Networks Group (ICN) announced a contract to expand and modernize the fixed network of Cesky Telecom. The contract is valued at 30 million euros. Siemens will supply, install and maintain its EWSD...

Top Czech mobile operators report growing customer numbers. (Czech).
January 1, 2002... The two Czech mobile phone operators reported growing customer numbers for the fourth quarter, but runner-up RadioMobil's gains outstripped those of market leader Eurotel. Eurotel, a venture of Cesky Telecom, Verizon Communications and...

Seven bidders shortlisted for Cesky Telecom sale. (Czech).
January 1, 2002... The Czech privatisation committee has shortlisted seven bidders for Cesky Telecom, the Finance Ministry said but did not name them. Deutsche Telekom and French-owned Orange were among bidders that placed indicative offers earlier this month...

More residents use mobile phones. (Estonia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fifty-two percent of Estonia's residents used mobile phones in the fourth quarter 2001, according to the Communications Board. Estonia's mobile phone firms had about 711,000 clients by the end of last year. By the end of 2000, 37 percent of...

Schibsted Telecom and Eesti Media launch a mobile content provider. (Estonia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Schibsted Telecom and Eesti Media have launched a new mobile content provider, Inpoc Baltics. The goal is to rapidly emerge as the market leader in mobile Internet in the Baltic states. The mobile content offered in the initial phase...

Sony Ericsson to open office in Riga. (Latvia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications could this spring open its Baltic representation office in the Latvian capital, Riga. Girts Grinbergs, the Baltic representative said that for now Sony Ericsson was using premises of Ericsson Latvian...

TietoEnator plans Lithuania JV. (Lithuania).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... TietoEnator, a Finnish-Swedish data services group, plans to start operations in Lithuania by setting up a new firm with the country's fixed-line monopoly Lietuvos Telekomas. "Together with Lietuvos Telekomas, TietoEnator will further...

Nokia to supply Lietuvos Telekomas with broadband IP access solution. (Lithuania).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Nokia and Lietuvos Telekomas have signed a contract for the supply of broadband DSL network solutions to deliver fast Internet services throughout Lithuania. The installations will bring high-speed nationwide Internet connectivity to...

Mobile phone imports more than double in January-November 2001. (Lithuania).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Lithuania imported a total of 330,700 mobile phones in the first 11 months of 2001, up from 144,180 units in the same period a year earlier, data released by the Statistics Department showed. The total value of mobile phones brought into...

OTE awarded second mobile operator license. (Macedonia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... OTE, a Greek telecom company, will be awarded the second mobile phone service operator license in Macedonia, minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Ljupco Balkoski said. He stressed that Skopje rejected the objections raised by...

Ericsson to launch mobile Internet services. (Macedonia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Ericsson is set to launch mobile Internet services in Macedonia later this year. The facility will be launched in cooperation with the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Faculty in Skopje.

Slovak mobile market nearly doubled in 2001. (Slovakia).
January 1, 2002... Slovakia's number of mobile phone users almost doubled in 2001 to 2.1 million, or some 40 percent of the population. The largest mobile phone provider, Globtel, controlled by France Telecom's Group Orange, said it had 1,204,716 active...

Globtel changes name to Orange. (Slovakia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Globtel, a mobile operator, said a shareholders meeting had agreed to change the company's name to Orange to reflect its inclusion in the France Telecom global mobile phone group. Globtel is 64 percent owned by Wirefree Services SA, a unit...

Slovakia to launch 3G license sale. (Slovakia).
January 1, 2002... Slovakia will launch the sale of three third-generation UMTS mobile phone licenses and one traditional GSM license in January and plans to issue them by the end of June. The Telecommunication Office will offer a package of one UMTS and one...

Telecoms Act amendment ready. (Slovakia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... An amendment to the Telecommunications Act of 2000 that would require Slovak Telecommunication (ST) to open local lines to other service providers is ready to be presented to parliament. If adopted, it could spur Internet development in...

UMC to invest US$125 million in 2002. (Ukraine).(Ukrainian Mobile Communications)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC), a mobile phone operator, said it would invest US$125 million to expand its networks and launch new services this year. Eric Franke, UMC's general director, said the number of its subscribers more than...

Ericsson signs deal with Ukrtelecom. (Ukraine).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Croatian subsidiary of Ericsson has signed a deal with Ukrtelecom, a mobile operator to deliver transmission equipment. The deal, worth 12 million euros, includes equipment used for monitoring the existing network in a country where...

Ukrtelekom's sale to be announced in April. (Ukraine).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Deputy Prime Minister Vasyl Rohovy said the government would announce a tender to sell a stake in Ukrtelekom in mid-April. Rohovy gave no details on the size of the stake to be offered at the open tender. The government has announced...

Baltics experience 2001 growth in ICT market. (Regional).(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... In 2001, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia saw various growth in their respective mobile and ISP markets, according to research from Prime Investment. November 2001, for example, saw the penetration rate of the Lithuanian mobile market reach...

Competition from new operators transforms fixed-voice market. (Regional).
January 1, 2002... Only a year after Estonia's full market liberalization, competition from new operators has transformed the fixed-voice market. A new study by IDC found that the biggest casualty has been the monopoly Eesti Telefon (ET), which has lost market...

NDS to provide conditional access for first digital cable system in Eastern Europe. (Regional).(Videoguard)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... NDS, a leader in interactive applications development, will supply its Videoguard conditional access (CA) for Eastern Europe's first digital cable network, which is being developed by Versatel. Versatel will offer more than two million...