Europe
: Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), NTT DoCoMo, Inc.'s partner in Russia,
began offering i-mode® services in the Moscow and St. Petersburg
areas today. Services will eventually be expanded to other business
areas of MTS.
Inset
is Sidorov Vassily President and CEO of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC
The services, which are
offered via MTS's GPRS network, represent the twelfth global market
for i-mode, following Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Belgium,
France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia and Israel (in order of introduction).
MTS is Russia's leading
mobile operator both in terms of subscribers and profitability. DoCoMo
concluded an agreement in December 2004 to provide MTS with know-how,
technologies and patents necessary to launch i-mode services.
DoCoMo will continue to
work with its international partners to introduce i-mode services
in other markets worldwide.
Outline of i-mode
Services in Russia
1) Operator: Mobile TeleSystems
OJSC
2) Launch date: September 15, 2005
3) Service area: Moscow and St. Petersburg
4) Network: GPRS
5) Handsets: NEC N343i and N411i, Samsung S342i and S410i, and LG
L342i
6) Services:
More than 120 sites from about 60 content providers at launch, available
in Russian and/or English.
Major categories, as follows:
News & Weather
Press & TV
Sports
Banks & Finance
Leisure & Career
Tourism & Transport
Goods & Services
City Guide
Games
Ringtones & Pictures
Humor & Horoscopes
Chats & Dating
i-mode mail availability
MMS transmission compatibility
Fees (excluding taxes):
Monthly fee for i-mode service: free
GPRS data (both outgoing/incoming):
$0.08/10KB: 08:00-22:00
$0.06/10KB: 22:00-08:00
Monthly content subscription fee: from $0 to $3
About MTS
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS) is the largest mobile phone operator
in Russia and the CIS, operating exclusively in the GSM/GPRS/EDGE
standard. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company provides its
services to over 48.33 million customers, in a license footprint area
covering a population of 233.1million in 87 out of 89 regions in Russia
and the entire territories of Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
MTS completed its IPO and listed its Level III ADRs on the New York
Stock Exchange in July 2000, under the symbol MBT. The Company's shares
have been listed locally on MICEX since November 2003. Following completion
of the required legal procedures in March 2004, MTS shares and ADRs
have been fully convertible into GDRs. The free float of the Company's
shares is approximately 37.5%. MTS' strategic shareholders are AFK
Sistema, a Russian financial and industrial holding company, and T-Mobile,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
