VIMPEL COMMUNICATIONS Moscow, Russia Cell Phone Services Firm Dials Up Expansion It Looks Beyond Hometown After securing the top spot in Moscow, it turns its gaze to other markets in Russia.(A)

Byline: MARILYN ALVA

It made it in Moscow. Now cell-phone service provider Vimpel Communications is well on its way to making it in the rest of Russia.

In the last few months, Moscow-based Vimpel scored licenses in two large regions of the motherland. The first is for the Northwest region, which includes St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.

The second came last month, when Vimpel acquired a license to operate in the Ural superregion of central Russia, where 24 million people live.

The wins will extend its operating area from 70% of the Russian population to 94%, company officials say.

"Two years ago we were only a Moscow operator. Now we are a nationwide operator," said Valery Goldin, Vimpel's vice …