To make it more convenient for residents of the North-West, in June 2007 OJSC North-West Telecom made an agency contract with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Mail of Russia, based on which universal communication services (UCS)* payment cards will be sold by post offices in all administrative entities of the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation (except for St. Petersburg).

OJSC North-West Telecom was granted the right of providing universal telephone communication services using payphone s in fact throughout the Northwestern Federal District of Russia (except for St. Petersburg), having won competitions held by the Federal Agency of Communication in 2006-2007. According to the terms of the competitions, in 2006 -2008 OJSC N.W. Telecom will install over 14,000 universal servicing payphone s.

At the moment OJSC N.W. Telecom is providing universal communication services using payphones in Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad, Murmansk and Vologda Oblast s, the Republic of Komi and the Nenets Autonomous District, where 3702 universal servicing payphone s had been installed by 01.07.07. UCS payment cards are sold in these regions through a network of own clients servicing centers of OJSC N.W.Telecom and through post offices (after making local contracts with regional divisions of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Mail of Russia).

Later on, with the expansion of the universal servicing payphone s network, the demand for the payment cards will grow. As payphone s are put into operation , North-West Telecom will arrange sales of payment cards in the territories where universal communication services are provided both through its own clients servicing centers and through post offices.

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* A UCS payment card is a unified universal means of payment used throughout Russia. It is issued with the face values of 100 and 50 roubles. The rates for local telephone connections via universal payphone s have been established by the Federal Communications Agency (FAS) and set forth in the agreements on the terms of universal communication services provision for each region. They are from 34 to 55 kopecks per minute. Long-distance and international telephone communication services via universal servicing payphone s are provided at the rates of telecommunication operators. It is possible both to make a phone call and to receive a free incoming call from and to a universal servicing payphone.