Rostelecom, Russia’s national long-distance telecommunications operator, is launching a  countrywide network of Customer Care Centers for better servicing all the clients in every Russian region.

From now on, the Company’s clients, if they have a question or concern, may contact the nearest Rostelecom’s Customer Care Center. At such centers it is possible to make payments for telecom services, to sign agreements or to get individual consultations from Rostelecom’s customer care professionals.

At the moment, the Company is opening its Customer Care Centers in 21 cities throughout the country, including Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara and others. By the summer 2006, additional 23 Centers are to be launched to provide due customer service across the entire Russian Federation – from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.

The launch of Customer Care Centers arose from the new rules and regulations for the provision of long-distance services, including licensing requirements for telecommunications operators, which came into effect on January 1, 2006. To comply with the new regulatory requirements, Rostelecom must interact with and provide its services to end-customers directly or through some agent.

As Russia’s national long-distance operator and the market leader, Rostelecom has vast experience in service provision in every region of Russia. To provide domestic and international long-distance services, the Company has traditionally cooperated with local and intra-regional operators.

 “The launch of our new customer care program contributes to further improving the customer service quality, which is part and parcel of the Company’s commercial strategy,” General Director of Rostelecom Dmitry Yerokhin said.