Fifth annual conference GSM 3G Russia/CIS to be held in Moscow on June 5-6

As expected, Russia's big three mobile operators are to receive the initial three 3G licenses issued by the Government. In total, twelve 3G bids had been submitted following publication of the tender rules in December 2006.

Photo: Fifth annual conference GSM 3G Russia/CIS to be held in Moscow on June 5-6

Among those to lose out were Tele2 subsidiary Chelyabinsk Cellular Communications and New Telephone Company, based in Vladivostok. Vimpelcom CEO Alexander Izosimov had predicted a win for his company at a press conference a week ahead of the official announcement, stating that one key criterion of the tendering rules, the ability to deploy 2000 base stations over a 3 year period could be met by ‘virtually anyone’ and that, as a result, the successful bidders would need to demonstrate their strong pedigree...

Natalya Rudenko, Vimplecom’s Technology Development Director will be sharing her knowledge on 3G Migration at the forthcoming GSM>3G Russia / CIS congress and exhibition in Moscow 5-6 June.

The licensing situation now finally clear, the next battle will be the race actually to roll out 3G services. MTS is planning to provide services in the largest few cities before the end of 2007, well ahead of any obligatory targets set by the Government. The company has also announced that right away subscribers will benefit from HSDPA technology, supporting video calls, video conferencing and mobile TV over 3G network. VimpelCom and Russia's third-placed operator MegaFon have said less about their deployment plans.

This recent confirmation of the big three operators' 3G licence wins does not mean that the licensing story is necessarily over. A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Communications Agency has reportedly told Russian business daily Kommersant that a fourth 3G license will be awarded in 2007, saying that it would assign frequencies currently utilised by SkyLink, a CDMA operator that has been trialling a 3G service for a number of years.

This is therefore an exciting time to engage and do business with Russia's mobile operators and the telecoms groups behind them. Informa Telecoms & Media's annual GSM>3G Russia / CIS conference and exhibition offers a unique opportunity to do so, taking place this year June 5-6 in Moscow.

www.gsm-3gworldseries.com/russia

To register to attend the event or for more information please contact Caroline Wiezien:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7017 5605

Notes for journalists

The Russian and CIS mobile market has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Total subscriptions in the region surpassed 200 million at end-2006, while penetration passed 100%.
(Source: Informa Telecoms & Media)

GSM > 3G Russia / CIS is the meeting place for operators and regulators from across the region to meet and debate the future of mobile communications in their marketplace, and to network with colleagues & international telecom experts. In 2007, over 400 participants, over 30 speakers and exhibitors are expected to attend the event. Providing a comprehensive view of the market, the programme will focus on:

- Monetising the convergence of services across fixed and mobile networks
- Boosting ARPU with richer multimedia services
- Cost-effective 3G migration
- Profitably deploying alternative broadband wireless access technologies
- Adding value to the region’s markets with MVNO offerings

The conference will include the region's leading telecoms experts including:

- Sergey Shchebetov, General Director, Sistema Telecom
- Alexey Reznikovich, CEO, Altimo
- Kjell-Morten Johnsen, SVP, CEE and Country Head, Russia, Telenor
- Martin Quirke, CEO, Bakcell (Azerbaijan)
- David Lee, CEO, MagtiCom (Georgia)
- Vijay Shukla, Co-Founder, ValueFirst
- Dmitry Bagdasaryan, Head of Marketing Division, SMARTS GSM
- Natalya Rudenko, Director of New Technologies and Planning, VImpelCom

Download the conference brochure at:

http://vodsl.msgfocus.com/c/11bK2Audb0hrZK5xJM

For more information on this event and how to take part, please contact: Caroline Wiezien
Tel: +44 20 7017 5605
E-mail: [email protected]
Or visit our website:
www.gsm-3gworldseries.com/russia