Moscow, April 25, 2002. — Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE:MBT), Russia’s leading mobile cellular operator, and Telekom-XXI OJSC, MTS subsidiary in the North-West announced that a 300-thousandth subscriber has joined the MTS network in Saint Petersburg.
MTS launched its network in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region on December 11, 2001. Since then, the daily number of new subscribers averaged over 2200, and that has resulted in 300,000 subscribers joining the network in record time — 135 days. “Record subscription rates in Saint Petersburg indicate, above all, the high level of confidence that Petersburg residents place in our company”, Mikhail Susov, First Vice-President of MTS said. “On our part, we are doing our very best to justify the confidence. MTS pays particular attention to daily improvement of its quality of service in Petersburg. And our today’s success in the North-West simply confirms the choice of our new strategy, focused on development of regional network and mutual trust-based client relations”. MTS has 190 base stations in Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Every month the company installs at least 30 new base stations, and from mid-March to mid-April 40 new GSM 900—1800 base stations were launched in the Petersburg region. In April MTS stepped into a new stage of the North-West development. On April 11, a network was launched in Veliky Novgorod. The company’s base stations were installed on Karelian Isthmus, along the Petersburg-Vyborg highway and to the Finnish border, in towns of Petrokrepost, Vsevolzhsk, Lomonosov, etc. By mid-April MTS has entirely covered the Tallinn highway from Petersburg to Kingisepp. In May-June, the company will launch base stations in Kirovsk, Priozersk, Vyritsa, Ropsha, Siverskaya and other populated areas. “Summer is coming, and we expect even more activity from our potential subscribers”, Andrey Rumyantsev, General Director of Telekom XXI OJSC said. “We provide quality communications in the majority of favorite recreational areas of Petersburg residents, and are now prepared for a significant inflow of new subscribers. By the end of this year we expect our subscribers’ base to double”. Today, MTS network is growing not only in the North-West. At present, MTS has operations in 32 regions of Central (including Moscow and the Moscow region), Northwest (including Saint Petersburg), South, Volga, Urals, Siberian and Far-Eastern federal regions. In April 2002, the number of MTS subscribers throughout Russia exceeded 3.5 million people, which is an absolute record on the Russian market.
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For further information contact:
OJSC “Mobile TeleSystems”
Press service
Public Relations Expert
Kirill Lubnin
Tel.: +7 (812) 346-69-59, +7 (095) 737-45-30
e-mail: lkm@mts.ru |
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT) is Russia’s leading mobile cellular operator. MTS and its subsidiaries have GSM 900/1800 licenses to provide mobile cellular telephony services in 48 regions of the Russian Federation, covering 89.5 million people or 60% of the country’s population. MTS network has operations in 32 regions, which cover more than 69.5 million people or 48% of the population of the Russian Federation. Since June 2000, MTS has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under MBT symbol. Additional information about MTS can be found on MTS’s website at www.mtsgsm.com
Telekom XXI OJSC is a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, providing GSM 900/1800 mobile cellular telephony services in the North-West of Russia. MTS launched its network in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region on December 11, 2001. In future, the company plans to launch offices throughout the North-West. Additional information about the company can be found on the website at www.spb.mts.ru
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statement to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” in our Form 20-F. These factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures; rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, risks associated with operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and other risk factors. |
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