Tele2 Russia emerged as the main winner in four regional tenders for GSM 1800 licenses in the Russian Far East. It has received from telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor the right to operate in the Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Koryak, and Chukotka regions and will now operate in 41 Russian regions out of 83.
Tele2 Russia, the Russian subsidiary of the Swedish telecommunications group Tele2, has positioned itself as a mobile discounter on the Russian market, where it counts over 18 million subscribers.
Rostelecom, Russia’s national telecommunications operator, won GSM licenses in three of the four regions. VimpelCom, one of the three nationwide mobile operators, received licenses in just two of the regions, while MegaFon, another nationwide mobile operator, did not receive any license. MTS did not take part in the tender.
Rostelecom representative Oleg Rumyantsev told ComNews.ru, a specialized online resource, that the national telecom operator will bid for licenses in all 63 regions where it is still not present.
Rostelecom not only operates fixed-line domestic and international telecommunications across the country, it also owns a nationwide fiber-optic backbone network and is developing Internet, VPN, intelligent network services (INS), and videoconferencing, among others services.
“Rostelecom does not aim at becoming just the fourth nationwide mobile operator. We are creating the first universal operator, [integrating] a variety of networks and services in all regions of Russia,” said Rumyantsev.
The operator recently completed a large reorganization and merger process with its regional affiliates.
Sources: Roskomnadzor, ComNews.ru
