Last year Tyumentelecom achieved a superior level of efficiency in major business areas.  The company accomplished the objectives in its 2001 business plan: boosting gross revenues by 140% compared to the previous year, generating Rub 986.1 mn.   

Plans to develop telecom facilities were also very successful.  

The total number of lines in service stood at 273,352 as of January 1, 2001, including 196,492 urban lines and 76,860 rural lines.  

In 2001 Tyumentelecom managed to cut the waiting list considerably and installed 17,364 lines.  

User density stood at 23.4 lines per 100 inhabitants, while this ratio dropped to 11.53 in rural areas.  

The company's digitalization rate (the number of electronic and quasi-electronic automatic telephone exchanges of the total number of ATE) for the urban and rural networks of Tyumentelecom rose 52.6% in 2001, which by far outperforms the average statistical level for Russian telecoms (35%).   

OJSC remained true to its traditions in 2001, by gradually growing the volume of its services provided, while expanding the range and type of its services.  Total investments surged by 232.4% compared to 2000 and stood at Rub 292.5 mn.  

During 2001 12,818 lines were entered into service using universal digital electronic switching facilities. 

Construction and repair work was done on connection lines in rural areas in the southern part of the region, which involved replacing analogue systems with digital facilities, and wireless lines with cables in Uporovsk, Tobolsk, Golyshmanovsk, Ishimsk, Abatsk, Yalutorovsk, and Nizhne-Tavdinsk.  Extended access was also provided to public phones (including long-distance and international dialing facilities) in the city of Tobolsk.  

The following value-added services were added to the existing network in Tyumen:  

- "Voice mail" - with a total capacity of 500 mailboxes is an additional feature for subscribers with a multi-channel telephone line with an answering service and fax receipt facility.  At present 1,800 customers make use of this service on a daily basis.  

-          "IP-Telephony" - the introduction of this service has made it possible to raise international traffic and lower user tariffs.  Work has also got under way to build the Tyumen Internet network.  To date there are some 7,000 Internet users in the city.  

The company generated Rub 16.5 mn in revenues from new services.  

The total amount of investments for 2002 also surged year on year and stood at Rub 748 mn.  

In 2002 Tyumentelecom plans to expand its cellular network in two main areas:

      - along federal highways linking Tyumen, Ishim, Tyumen-Tobolsk, the whole southern part of the Tyumen region, including Ishim, Tobolsk, Zavodoukovsk, and Yalutorovsk will be covered by Tyumentelecom's cellular network; 

- expand its line capacity up to 50,000.  

The company also plans to overhaul its Automatic Telephone Exchanges (ATE) in Tobolsk, in the rural areas of Uporov, Yurginskoye, expand its ATE facilities in Zavodoukovsk.  Telephone service card are to be launched in Ishim and continued in Tyumen. Moreover, an Information Center is to be set up in Tyumen to provide directory assistance.  Other projects include the introduction of Internet cards, prepaid plastic cards, and a GSM-900 messaging center.

In the not-too-distant future plastic cards will become the sole means of payment in the Tyumen and Tobolsk region for external telecom, which should allow the company to reach a new plateau of customer service.  

The company's actions aimed at developing telecom services should enable Tyumentelecom not only to meet growing subscriber needs, but also generate increased revenues for the city and regional budgets.  The company ranked third on its 2000 results in terms of sales tax yield generated (2001 results are not yet available).