“The launch of the network in Belarus is a breakthrough for our company and is the first step in our expansion beyond the borders of Russia”, said Mikhail Smirnov, President of MTS. — “MTS’s network is expanding rapidly across Russia. We now have over 4 million subscribers in 39 Russian regions and the launch of our GSM network in Belarus is a priority for our company”. At launch, LLC Mobile TeleSystems network covers most of Minsk and the area of Minsk national airport. The network consists of 20 Siemens base stations and a switch with a capacity of 100,000 subscribers. By the end of September, the number of stations in Minsk and its suburban area will reach 70. This will enable LLC Mobile TeleSystems to provide reliable cellular communications both in Minsk and its suburban area by this fall. LLC MTS is the first GSM cellular operator in Belarus to operate in GSM-900 and GSM-1800 standards. “Belarus has a population of ten million and the penetration rate is only 2%. This is an interesting market, which we believe is likely to experience rapid growth”, said MTS President Mikhail Smirnov. “We expect the growth to come from new subscribers and also from Russian roamers. MTS’s network will soon cover the entire railroad and highway from Moscow to Brest, the most convenient route from Russia to Europe”. The network along the Moscow-Brest highway is already under construction, as is the network in Minsk. Reliable communication on the Minsk-Smolensk part of the highway is to be provided at the year-end. By that time, MTS’ network will be launched in Belarus first regional center, Brest and in Orsha, a major railway junction of the Republic. In early 2003, LLC MTS will operate on the Minsk-Brest highway and other Belarus regional centers, Grodno, Gomel, Vitebsk and Mogilev. By 2005 the company plans to complete the coverage of the territory of Belarus, covering at least 90% of its population. OJSC MTS owns 49% of the capital of the new company with the remaining 51% being held by Belarus Unitary Enterprise “Mezhdugorodnyaya Svyaz”. MTS has paid $10 million to the Belarus budget and covered the license fee of $5 million. The cost of work and equipment amounted to $15 million. By the end of 2002, MTS plans to invest $50 million into the network and service infrastructure. Starting from 27 June, Minsk-based subscribers began switching to LLC MTS network in two sales centers and 15 dealer outlets. One of the main advantages of the unified Belarus-Russian MTS’s network is the special roaming rates available for Belarus’ MTS subscribers in over 30 Russian regions. In turn, Russian subscribers enjoy low roaming rates in Belarus. “MTS starts out in Belarus with the slogan ‘Two Nations — One Communication’- said Eduard Makariev, General Director, LLC MTS. — MTS’s coming to Belarus enables residents of both countries, that have been traditionally close in friendship and business, to communicate more easily with one another”. Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT) is Russia`s leading mobile cellular operator, which provides services to over 4.2 million of the country’s inhabitants. MTS and its subsidiaries have GSM 900/1800 licenses to provide mobile cellular telephony services in 49 re-gions of Russia and in Belarus. MTS network has operations in 39 regions of Central (including Moscow and the Moscow region), Northwest (including Saint Petersburg), South, Volga, Urals, Siberian and Far-Eastern federal regions. This territory is inhabited by 78,3 million people, or 56% of the population of the Russian Federation. Since June 2000, MTS has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker MBT. Additional information about MTS can be found on MTS’s website at www.mtsgsm.com