On 29 May 2008 the presidium of the International Telecommunications Academy (ITA) elected Vladimir Shumeyko, the first deputy CEO, and Oleg Semanov, the deputy CEO, members of the International Telecommunications Academy.

The ITA Presidium acknowledged the contribution of V. Shumeyko and O. Semanov to the telecommunications industry and their expertise in large telecommunications

projects.

Currently the Academy has 790 members from 46 countries. These include heads of the telecommunications industry, companies, research and educational institutions and also renowned telecommunications scientists.

Among the employees of the OJSC North-West Telecom Vladimir Akulich, CEO, Vitaly Vitman, head of the Murmansk branch, Vikenty Kozlov, head of the Komi branch, and Leonid Tufrin, head of the St.-Petersburg branch have been awarded the prestigious membership in ITA.

--------------------------------

*The International Telecommunications Academy (ITA) was founded in March 1996. It is a new international organization which aims to integrate the global research potential.

The Academy strives to solve economic, social and technological problems to ensure the successful transition to the Global Information Society.

The efforts of the International Telecommunications Academy were acknowledged in 2001, when it was granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and association with the UN Department of Public Information (DPI). It also became a member of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and an associate member of the International Telecommunications Union.