Mobile & Telecom

Sberbank offers $588 million loan to help Megafon take control of Mail.ru Group

February 14, 2017

MegaFon‘s plan to acquire a majority stake in Mail.Ru Group, Russia’s main Internet group, seems to materialize with Sberbank opening a credit line of 35 billion rubles ($588.62 million at the current exchange rate) until 2024 to help finance the transaction. The bank will also lower interest rates on three existing credit lines amounting to 97.2 billion roubles. The announcement was …

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iPhone 7 stands up to Siberian ice

January 31, 2017

On Jan. 20, a man in Siberia went ice fishing and had himself a bad day. After drilling a hole in the ice over the Lena River, he accidentally dropped his new iPhone 7 Plus, and the magical device plunged straight into the freezing water below. The iPhone remained underwater for 13 hours, until the …

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MegaFon announces plan to acquire majority stake in Mail.Ru Group

February 8, 2017

MegaFon, a leading Russian telecom group, intends acquire a majority stake in Mail.Ru Group, Russia’s main Internet group. The announcement was made today following a meeting of MegaFon’s board of directors. The acquisition plan still needs to be approved by the group’s shareholders, who will meet on Jan. 20, 2017. According to the plan, “MegaFon will acquire 11.5 …

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Rostelecom invests $2 million in network solutions developer RDP.RU

November 24, 2016

CommIT Capital, the venture arm of national telecom operator Rostelecom, has invested some 130 million rubles (a little more than $2 million at the current exchange rate) in the RDP.RU group in exchange for a 15% stake. RDP.RU is a major Russian developer of network solutions for telecoms operators and corporate clients. Rostelecom, among other clients, uses RDP’s products, including …

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Opera Software closes its Russian office, receives censorship request from state regulator

November 22, 2016

Opera Software is to close its Russian subsidiary, leaving a staff of two in the country, down from 10 currently, the Russian media have reported. The move might be part of the company’s global strategy, in which emerging markets are now less of a priority than in the past, local representative Mikhail Zaitsev told business daily Vedomosti. In addition, Opera Software’s …

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MegaFon in discussions to acquire stake in Mail.ru Group, but no merger considered

November 18, 2016

On Wednesday, following “press speculation,” the Russian Internet group Mail.ru Group and mobile operator MegaFon confirmed to be discussing potential commercial collaboration to “jointly develop new products and services in [Russia].” “Market dynamics and advances in technology have created favorable conditions for greater cooperation between telecom providers and digital media companies,” the companies note in …

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The Kremlin eats GPS for breakfast

October 25, 2016

Over the past several months, Muscovites have been busy complaining on social media that their GPS-powered mobile apps are malfunctioning. Users of Yandex.Navigator have run into frequent problems, for example, watching their vehicles’ locations bounce all over the map. When the Pokemon Go craze arrived in Russia earlier this year, Moscow’s geolocation issues became truly …

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Yandex launches global partnership program to preinstall its apps in Android-powered devices

October 12, 2016

Yandex, the Russian search giant, is launching today a global partnership program for Android handset manufacturers and telecom operators, covering 15 countries. The move is coming as Yandex is seeking ways to get more traction in mobile, where it is loosing its leadership to Google on the Russian market. Manufacturers of Android handsets and telecom operators are …

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Samsung Pay and Apple Pay launch in Russia

February 5, 2017

Yesterday Sberbank, Russia’s national savings bank, and MasterCard announced that they have made available Apple Pay to their clients in Russia. A number of other Russian players are expected to follow. With this expansion, Apple Pay is now available in 10 countries since launching in 2014, including the US, UK, China, Australia, and Canada, notes The Verge. “Many of Sberbank clients actively use …

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iPhone 7 goes on sale in Russia

September 26, 2016

Sales of the long-awaited iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones officially start in Russia today, Sept. 23. New Apple smartphones will be on sale in retail networks of Russian cellphone operators (MTS, Megafon and Vimpelcom) as well as networks of large Russian retailers of electronics and home appliances. Apple presented iPhone 7 smartphone in San …

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Rostec suggests to use pension fund to finance implementation of ‘Big Brother law’

September 6, 2016

Last week, the Industry and Trade Ministry suggested to entrust the National Informatics Center (NIC), a subsidiary of the state-owned corporation Rostec, with implementing the requirements of the new “anti-terrorist” legislation related to the storage of phone and Internet communications. Dubbed “Big Brother law,” this legislation was adopted by the Russian parliament and signed by …

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Mikhail Fridman’s LetterOne confirms $50 million investment in “disruptive” US mobile service provider

September 5, 2016

Earlier this week LetterOne (L1), an international investment group controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, announced that it had received clearance from the US authorities for a $50 million capital injection in FreedomPop. Founded in 2012 and based in Los Angeles, California, FreedomPop offers wireless data, voice and text services. Presenting itself as “one of the fastest growing and most innovative mobile …

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