Market News
Total Number of Cellular Users in Russia Exceeds 20 mln
AC&M reports that Russian mobile companies have more than 20 mln subscribers. Total number of Russian cellular users is 20,100,000, which translates into 13.8% penetration of mobile services in the country.
Top 10 Cellular Operators
| Company | February 28, 2003 | January 31, 2003 | ||
| Total | Moscow | Total | Moscow | |
| MTS* | 7,320,000 | 3,385,000 | 7,050,000 | 3,245,000 |
| Vimpelcom | 5,850,000 | 3,850,000 | 5,620,000 | 3,800,000 |
| Megafon** | 3,445,000 | 382,278 | 3,235,750 | 361,100 |
| SMARTS Group | 619,940 | 582,000 | ||
| Uralsvyazinform | 516,600 | 471,600 | ||
| Taif-Telcom | 313,648 | 296,375 | ||
| N.Novgorod Cellular | 191,000 | 177,000 | ||
| Tatincom | 120,584 | 119,081 | ||
| Tomsk Cellular Communications | 114,311 | 107,173 | ||
| Ekaterinburg Cellular | 104,300 | 85,000 | ||
* including Belarus subscribers (65,000); UMC (Ukraine) will be consolidated starting from March 2003
** including 5,000 in TT-Mobile (Tajikistan)
Alternative Operators Earned More Than 50% of the Industry Revenue
It is important to note that for the first time in the history "alternative" operators outperformed "traditional" ones in terms of revenue. "Traditional" operators mainly include Svyazinvest regional subsidiaries while the rest of operators dubbed as "new" or "alternative". Alternative operators include cellular services providers, ISPs, non-Svyazinvest carriers, etc. According to AC&M estimates, cellular companies alone earned approximately US$ 3.2 bn in 2002.
Russian Telecom Industry Revenue
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More Than 1 mn of New Users Enlisted by Mobile Operators in January
Top 10 Russian Cellular Operators
| # | Company | Subs |
| 1 | MTS | 7,050,000 |
| 2 | Vimpelcom* | 5,605,000 |
| 3 | Megafon | 3,235,750 |
| 4 | SMARTS Group | 570,000 |
| 5 | Uralsvyazinform | 471,600 |
| 6 | Taif-Telcom | 296,375 |
| 7 | N.Novgorod Cellular | 180,000 |
| 8 | Tatincom | 119,081 |
| 9 | Tomsk Cellular | 107,173 |
| 10 | Delta Telecom | 99,000 |
*StavTeleSot (~200,000) is consolidated starting January 2003
Russian Сellular Market Breakdown, January 2003
Moscow market
Vimpelcom remains a leader in Moscow with 3.870 mln subscribers while MTS narrows the gap with 3.245 mln. Megafon enlisted 48,600 new users in January bringing total number of its Moscow users to 361,000.
Net Additions in Moscow, January 2003
Russian Internet Data, Jan 2003
Source: Yandex
Cellular Market Update 2002
Penetration of mobile services in Russia is over 12%
Total number of Russian cellular subscribers is 18.001 mln as of year-end 2002.
Top 10 Russian Cellular Operators
| # | Company | Subs |
| 1 | MTS* | 6,690,000 |
| 2 | Vimpelcom** | 5,155,000 |
| 3 | Megafon | 2,939,608 |
| 4 | SMARTS Group | 545,000 |
| 5 | Uralsvyazinform | 445,087 |
| 6 | Taif-Telcom | 267,061 |
| 7 | Stavtelesot | 193,265 |
| 8 | N.Novgorod Cellular | 171,500 |
| 9 | Tatincom | 117,333 |
| 10 | Tomsk Cellular | 101,050 |
* Including Belarus subscribers (42,500)
** Including Kaliningrad-based Extel GSM (110,000)
Russian Сellular Market Breakdown, December 2002
You may find out more about 2002 results by downloading AC&M Russian Cellular Market Update, December 2002.
If you have questions on Russian cellular market, please do not hesitate to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone +7 495 623-5480