September 12, 2008, Moscow: COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS JSC, LSE: CMST), the leading supplier of integrated telecommunication solutions in Russia and the CIS, has won the international Global Telecoms Business Innovation Award in the WiMAX Network Innovation nomination for mobile WiMAX design and implementation.

The GTB Innovation Awards of the renowned Global Telecoms Business magazine were first presented in 2007 and are designed to honor outstanding results and innovative projects in telecommunications. Nominations for the awards come from readers, and winners are selected by a competent jury.
The ceremony took place in London on 9 September 2008. The Global Telecoms Business Award got Alexander Gorbunov, Strategic Development Vice President of COMSTAR-UTS.

“We appreciate the recognition demonstrated by telecom professionals who honored us with the GTB Innovation Award,” says Mr. Gorbunov. “COMSTAR-UTS implements innovative projects which are internationally valued and recognized, and highly estimated by the world telecommunication community.”

“The industry is seeing a wave of innovation which is making a huge difference – to the companies working in the industry and to all of us in business and as consumers. They are making such a difference to the world,” said the editor of Global Telecoms Business, Alan Burkitt-Gray.

COMSTAR-UTS has started to build wireless broadband Internet network based on IEEE 802.16e (frequency band 2.5 – 2.7 GHz) in Moscow. The network is expected to be launched in the end of 2008. Apart from other broadband access methods, mobile WiMAX network will allow COMSTAR-UTS to offer multi-services to Moscow subscribers from any point wherever they are – at home, in office, in the street. Trial network locations are already in operation. In December 2007 COMSTAR-UTS and Intel announced the strategic partnership agreement to develop mobile WiMAX in Russia.