As North American and
European mobile telephony markets level off, a new wave of interest
is growing in markets with some of the lowest mobile phone usage,
namely China and Russia.
Two Nordic phone companies have teamed with a group of Russian
firms to create what they say will be Russia's first nationwide
mobile phone operator. Telia AB of Sweden and Sonera Corp. of
Finland have joined forces with Russian investment group AO
Telecomivest.
The new company, whose working title is Megaphone, will bring
together eight regional cellular operators covering 80 percent of
Russia's population. The operator will serve 400,000 existing
customers and have the potential to deliver services to a market of
122 million users.
The network will operate on the GSM 900 MHz and1800 MHz
frequencies, with support for HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched
Data) and GPRS in major metropolitan areas such as Moscow and St.
Petersburg.
The Nordic companies are hoping to be part of the expected wave
of growth in the Russian mobile telephony market; with one of the
lowest penetration rates at about 3%, the Russian market is
predicted to grow intensely over the next five to seven years.
Commenting on the new venture, Martti Huttunen, vice president of
Sonera Wireless Ventures, said, "Consolidation has become a key
means to create value, new areas of growth, efficiencies, and
consumer benefits in telecommunications. We are excited about
participating in the creation of a leader in such a large market
with so much untapped potential,"
Investors are discussing plans for deploying a 3G networks and
public listing, subject to market conditions.
For more information: http://www.sonera.com
