| Advanced Communications & Media |
Management Consulting and Market Research |
News
Steady Growth Continues
April 3, 2003
Russian cellular market grew by more than 1.1 mln users in March, 2003. Russian mobile companies had 21,115,000 subscribers as of the end of March 2003, which translates into 14.5% penetration of mobile services in the country.
Top 10 Cellular Operators
| Company | March 31, 2003 | February 28, 2003 | ||
| Total | Moscow | Total | Moscow | |
| MTS* | 9,510,000 | 3,545,000 | 7,320,000 | 3,385,000 |
| Vimpelcom | 6,170,000 | 3,940,000 | 5,847,000 | 3,846,000 |
| Megafon** | 3,635,940 | 387,706 | 3,445,000 | 382,278 |
| SMARTS Group | 660,000 | 619,940 | ||
| Uralsvyazinform | 551,400 | 516,600 | ||
| Taif-Telcom*** | 332,246 | 313,648 | ||
| N.Novgorod Cellular | 201,630 | 191,000 | ||
| Tomsk Cellular Communications | 123,630 | 114,311 | ||
| Tatincom | 122,864 | 120,584 | ||
| Ekaterinburg Cellular | 114,700 | 104,300 | ||
*including UMC of Ukraine (1.82 mln) and Belarus subscribers (65,000)
** including 5,538 in TT-Mobile (Tajikistan)
*** 240,000 active subscribers; Taif-Telcom will be consolidated into MTS starting from end-April 2003 following the recent acquisition.
Russian Cellular Market Breakdown, March 2003
The chart above includes only Russian subscribers, all CIS networks were excluded from calculations.
Moscow Market
The month was successfull for MTS in Moscow while Megafon delivered disappointing results. Vimpelcom also loses its positions in the capital. If the trend persists, MTS may catch up with Vimpelcom in 2-3 months on the Moscow market.
Megafon's weak performance in March may be explained by the lack of direct Moscow numbering capacity that the company rents from other operators. The shortage was terminated in the end in the month. In addition, Megafon launched a new marketing campaign in order to stimulate sales.
Moscow Net Additions in March 2003
© 2002, 2003 Advanced Communications & Media Ltd.