The
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
industry in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
has expanded rapidly to become one of the largest in the world. In terms of number of smartphone users, Russia is the 4th biggest smartphone market in the world sitting behind only China, India, and USA.
History
In 1963,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
's first mobile phone network using the
car phone
A car phone is a mobile radio telephone specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile.
This service originated with the Bell System and was first used in St. Louis on June 17, 1946.
Overview
The original equipment weighed , and the ...
came into operation.
Initial selection of technological mobile standard in Russia had been left for market forces by issuing licenses for different standards. Later, regulatory authorities have developed stricter policy. However, there still exists a great variety of both analogue and digital standards.
NMT standard was a first generation analogue mobile technology that still has footstep in Russia, employed by commercial mobile operators since the early 90s.
Regional operators have deployed the
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
networks in Russia since 1995, originally in the 900 MHz frequency band.
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
standard is dominating in Russian mobile market with small number of
NMT-450,
AMPS/
DAMPS
Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are molecules within cells that are a component of the innate immune response released from damaged or dying cells due to trauma or an infection by a pathogen. They are also known as danger-associated ...
subscribers.
In 1994, a joint venture of
Moscow City Telephone Network
The Moscow City Telephone Network ( ) is a publicly held utility providing local telephone service to over 4,000,000 subscribers in the city of Moscow, Russia. Its Latin acronym is MGTS.
History
Founded in 1882, the Bell Telephone Company built ...
,
T-Mobile
T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...
and
Siemens, which later became part of
Mobile TeleSystems
MTS (russian: Мобильные ТелеСистемы, МТС, "Mobile TeleSystems"), headquartered in Moscow, is the largest mobile network operator in Russia, operating on GSM, UMTS and LTE standards. Apart from cellular network, the compan ...
, offered Russia's first mobile phone service for the public in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. In the same year in June,
VimpelCom
VEON Ltd. (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.) is a Dutch-domiciled multinational telecommunication services company. It predominantly operates services in the regions of Asia, Africa and Europe. It is the 13th largest mobile network operator in the wor ...
also started
Beeline
A bee line is an idiom for the shortest route or a straight line between two points (see "as the crow flies"): bee line, bee-line, or beeline may also refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Beeline (brand), a telecommunications brand by VimpelCom L ...
mobile phone service.
In 2002, MegaFon was formed to provide all-Russia service, amalgamating Sonic Duo of Moscow, Mobikom-Novosibirsk, and other companies. In that year also, the number of mobile subscribers in Russia soared by 130% to 18mn, implying penetration of 12.3%, compared with 5.4% at the end of the previous year. The continued strong growth of the cellular subscriber base was largely due to the accelerating regional rollout of the major national cellular operators. In 2007, MegaFon started Russia's first
3G service in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Russian
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
operator Scartel (Yota brand), finished in 2010 its implementation of a trial LTE network in
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
and plans to deploy LTE networks in
Novosibirsk and
Samara. In July 2010 Scartel received approval from regulator
Roskomnadzor
The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as ''Roskomnadzor'' (RKN) (russian: Роскомнадзор КН, is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, co ...
to abandon WiMAX for LTE, re-using its existing spectrum. the regulator had however previously insisted that the frequencies allocated to Scartel for WiMAX could not be used for other access types.
On the Amur Highway at the beginning of October 2011 MTS, Vimpelcom and Megaphone completed the construction of a joint network to provide mobile communication. Operators built across the highway 102 towers (of 140 towers) for base stations, 32 of which have launched MTS and "MegaFon" and 38 by VimpelCom, now Veon Ltd (due to the fact that it has only in the Far East 3G licenses, and in some regions of the Federation, GSM-1800).
The 2012 tender of the Ministry of Communications awarded licenses to deploy LTE networks in the lower (720–790 MHz, 791–862 MHz) and upper (2500–2690 MHz) bands to the "big 3" (Megafon, MTS and Veon) and to the national fixed-line operator Rostelecom. Each of the winners relies on two lanes wide in the upper range of 10 MHz and 7.5 MHz in the lower. The upper range of frequencies considered to be free and is suitable for deploying LTE. However, the lower, mostly occupied by the security forces and navigation and radar systems.
On September of that year
MTS launched the country's first
TD-LTE network, using the TD-LTE spectrum in the 2595–2620 MHz band it secured in February.
Nokia Siemens
Nokia Networks (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN)) is a multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia Cor ...
had provided its Single Radio Access Network using energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Stations as well as its Liquid Core-based Evolved Packet Core platform.
In November 2013 Megafon began to provide the
LTE network
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/ HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...
in the Republic of
Kalmykia, the
Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO; russian: Яма́ло-Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг (ЯНАО), ; yrk, Ямалы-Ненёцие автономной ӈокрук, ) or Yamalia (russian: Ямалия) is a fe ...
, and the
Altai Krai. The network was launched in major cities in the regions
Elista
Elista (russian: Элиста́, (common during the Soviet era) or (most common pronunciation used after 1992 and in Kalmykia itself);"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. ...
,
Noyabrsk
Noyabrsk ( rus, Ноя́брьск, p=nɐˈjabrʲsk; Tundra Nenets: Нюдя Пэвдей мар, romanized: ''Njudja Pəvdej mar''; Forest Nenets: Нюча пэ”дя”й марˮ, romanized: ''Njuča pəꜧdjaꜧj marꜧ'') is the second larg ...
,
Novy Urengoy
Novy Urengoy (russian: Но́вый Уренго́й, lit: “New Urengoy”; Nenets: Едэй Уренгой, ''Edėy Urengoy'') is a city in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Population: It is the second largest city in the autonomous ...
and
Gorno-Altaisk
Gorno-Altaysk (russian: Го́рно-Алта́йск, a=Горно-Алтайск.ogg, r=Gorno-Altaysk, p=ˈgornə ɐlˈtajsk; ; historically, pre-1932: Ulala) is the capital town of the Altai Republic, Russia.
The population stands at around ...
. On the same month Mobile phone retailer
Svyaznoi started selling
SIM card
A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)
A GSM mobile phone
file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg, T-Mobile nano-SIM card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s
file:Tf sim both sides.png, A TracFone Wireless SIM card ha ...
s under the Svyaznoi Mobile brand in November, becoming a new
mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), using
MTS infrastructure.
Interregional TransitTelekom said a month later that it also plans to launch an MVNO in April 2014 targeting migrant workers, offering low cost calls to
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n countries.
In December 2013, Minister of Communications,
Nikolay Nikiforov
Nikolay Anatolyevich Nikiforov (russian: Никола́й Анато́льевич Ники́форов; born 24 June 1982) is a Russian politician. In 2012, he became Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia.
Career
At age 19, N ...
recalled that in 2011 270 base stations of LTE were launched, in 2012 about 4,000, in 2013 10,000 and it is planned that in 2014–2015 more than 15 thousand such stations. On the same month it was announced that the "biggest four",
Rostelecom
Rostelecom is Russia’s largest provider of digital services for a wide variety of consumers, households, private businesses, government and municipal authorities, and other telecom providers.
Rostelecom interconnects all local public operators ...
,
MTS,
Beeline
A bee line is an idiom for the shortest route or a straight line between two points (see "as the crow flies"): bee line, bee-line, or beeline may also refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Beeline (brand), a telecommunications brand by VimpelCom L ...
and
Megafon
MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator completed the construction of communication facilities in the areas of transport corridor "North South" and "East West", with a total length of more than 11 thousand km. Work was done to ensure that these routes support advanced cellular communication, and operators spent money under the federal program to improve road safety and implementation of the "Glonass Era". Objects were built on federal roads M5 Ural, M6 Caspian, M53, M55 Baikal and M60 Ussuri according to the press service of the Ministry of Communications of Russia. Costs for the construction of antenna towers were divided by the operators on an equal share, and the cost to provide power to the communication infrastructure undertaken by the state. At the end of this month Scartel (Yota brand) launched LTE network in the cities of Cheboksary, Irkutsk, Kirov, Omsk, Penza, and Ulyanovsk.
Mobile phone service providers
There are four nationwide mobile phone service providers who possess 2G and 3G licenses in every region of Russia (so called ''Big-4''):
MTS
Mobile TeleSystems
MTS (russian: Мобильные ТелеСистемы, МТС, "Mobile TeleSystems"), headquartered in Moscow, is the largest mobile network operator in Russia, operating on GSM, UMTS and LTE standards. Apart from cellular network, the compan ...
(MTS, in ), 51% owned by
AFK Sistema
AFK Sistema PAO is a large Russian conglomerate company, founded by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who was chairman of the corporation's board of directors until 2022. In April, Yevtushenkov's shareholding in Sistema has decreased to 49.2%, and he also s ...
, provides mobile phone service, using 2G GSM technology, 3G service, using W-CDMA technology. It also provides fixed broadband services and fixed-line telephony services (in Moscow via its 99% subsidiary
MGTS).
As of June 2012, MTS was the biggest mobile operator in Russia in terms of subscriber base with 69.6 mln subscribers (31% market share). It also had 35,7 mln subscribers in several CIS-countries, including Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Belarus.
As of January 2012, MTS had 2.1 mln residential fixed broadband subscribers (11% market share) being the biggest player on the Moscow market (940,000 subscribers, or 27% market share).
Beeline
Veon Ltd (fully incorporated in
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
) provides mobile services under
Beeline
A bee line is an idiom for the shortest route or a straight line between two points (see "as the crow flies"): bee line, bee-line, or beeline may also refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Beeline (brand), a telecommunications brand by VimpelCom L ...
brand, using
2G GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
and
3G (
W-CDMA
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Int ...
) technologies. In April 2011, Veon closed the combination with Wind Telecom and turned into a global carrier operating in roughly 20 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Italy (
Wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
), Algeria (
Djezzy
Djezzy (Arabic: جازي) is Algeria's principal mobile network operator, with a market share of 65% (over 16.49 million subscribers in December 2016) and a network covering 90% of the population (48 wilayas). Djezzy is wholly owned by the Algeria ...
),
CIS countries and other.
As of June 2012 it had 55.7 mln subscribers in Russia (24% market share in terms of subscribers)
and over 209 mln subscribers worldwide.
MegaFon
MegaFon
MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator (in ) is owned by Russian
oligarch Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman and oligarch. By 2022, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion and was among the w ...
. The company provides 2G (GSM) and 3G (W-CDMA) mobile phone services. In April 2012, MegaFon was the first of Big-3 operators to launch 4G services.
[MegaFon launches 4G services via Yota; resolves ownership disputes ](_blank)
/ref> It is the only ''Big-3'' company which remains private, yet rumours about company's possible IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
were circulating for several years. In June 2012 (after significant changes in shareholders structure) MegaFon confirmed that it is looking for going public in second half of the year in case market conditions will become «favourable»
As of June 2012, MegaFon had 55.7 mln subscribers in Russia (27% market share). Unlike MTS and Veon, Megafon has neither developed operations outside Russia (it has only 1.6 mln subscribers in Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
, Ossetia
Ossetia ( , ; os, Ирыстон or , or ; russian: Осетия, Osetiya; ka, ოსეთი, translit. ''Oseti'') is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. ...
and Abkhazia) nor has focused on residential broadband services (its market share is below 4%, with most of subscribers in Moscow).
Tele2 (Rostelecom)
Rostelecom the largest fixed-line operator and former monopoly, together with its subsidiary T2-Mobile provide mobile services on the territory of 65 regions of Russia, serving more than 36.5 million subscribers. During the 2010s, Rostelecom and Tele2 built mobile networks of the third generation in 40 regions of Russia. Total planned to install more than 8 thousand base stations. Suppliers of equipment and solutions for the 3G+ network are Ericsson
(lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informa ...
and Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
. Delta Telecom (in Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Дельта Телеком) offers Sky Link (in Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Скай Линк) service in northwest Russia and other areas, using 2G, 3G and LTE-450 technology.
Mobile phone industry
The mobile phone service provider licensing in Russia is under the control of Rospechat, the Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of Russia.
For new technologies, Russia's mobile phone industry has depended on overseas companies. For example, in 2009, MegaFon revealed that Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) was selected as the winner of its tender to building 3G network and that the following companies together would collaborate on MegaFon's 3G deployment and upgrades until 2010:
* Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Networks (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN)) is a multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia Corp ...
(NSN)
* Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
* Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a s ...
* Ericsson
(lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informa ...
* ZTE
ZTE Corporation is a Chinese partially state-owned technology company that specializes in telecommunication. Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges.
ZTE's core business is wireless, exchange, opt ...
The Russian mobile phone service operators have been active in their presence in the CIS and other foreign countries. Beeline is already in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. MegaFon is in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Mobile TeleSystems is in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(using CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
).
On December 4, 2013, the first Russian smartphone, Yotaphone was launched. The idea of YotaPhone was created in Russia, but manufacturing and assembly of the phone is done in China. YotaPhone is a smartphone with support for fourth generation networks, LTE. Feature of the device is the presence of a 4.3-inch screens on two sides: The LCD one is on the front, while the black and white screen with "electronic ink" is on the back side. The first device was awarded to Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev by Rostec state corporation head, Sergei Chemezov.
Russian manufacturers
*Beeline
A bee line is an idiom for the shortest route or a straight line between two points (see "as the crow flies"): bee line, bee-line, or beeline may also refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Beeline (brand), a telecommunications brand by VimpelCom L ...
* Explay (become subsidiary of Fly in 2015)
* Gresso
* Highscreen
*Megafon
MegaFon (russian: МегаФон), previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator
* MTS
* RoverPC
*teXet
The Hira Company Ltd (incorporating Texet Sales Ltd) is a family-owned UK company based in Manchester, England[Sitronics
Sitronics (russian: Ситро́никс) is a microelectronics company based in Moscow, Russia and controlled by Sistema holding, that also manufactures mobile phones. Its main assets are the electronics fabs, research and development facilitie ...](_blank)
* Yotaphone
Number portability
Number portability officially became available in Russia on December 1, 2013. An appropriate legislation signed into law by President Vladimir Putin a year earlier, on December 26, 2012. Operators have repeatedly stated that the time allotted is not enough to run services. Within 12 days since the law came into force, 9090 subscribers filed applications to move to another operator, of which only 57 until satisfied.
See also
* Telecommunications in Russia
Censorship and the issue of media freedom in Russia have been main themes since the era of the telegraph. Radio was a major new technology in the 1920s, when the Communists had recently come to power. Soviet authorities realized that the "ham" op ...
* Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of Russia
* List of mobile network operators of Europe#Russia
*
*
* Mobile phone industry in Ukraine
References
External links
MegaFon official site
Mobile TeleSystems official site
VimpelCom official site
Delta Telecom & Sky Link official site
(in Russian)
{{Telecommunications
Telecommunications in Russia
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...