Alexander Andreev, General Director  of "Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC, directors of UTK’s regional branches and journalists of the SFD mass media will take part in the video conference. Video studio of the General Directorate of "Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC in Krasnodar will be connected to video studios of the regional branches: Rostov, Volgograd, Stavropol, Astrakhan, Adygeia, Karachaevo-Cherkessian, ??lmykia, Northern Ossetian and Kabardino-Balkarian branches. The video conference will be broadcasted on-line at the site www.mediazona.ru. One can get accreditation for participation at PR departments of UTK’s regional branches.

On 14th November 2006 the Federal Tariff Service of the Russian Federation approved new tariffs for local and intra-zonal voice services at "Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC. The new tariffs will come into effect starting from 1st February 2007.

The new tariffs will be introduced in compliance with article 54 of the Federal Law “On Communications”, the RF Government resolution ? 637 «On the State Regulation of Tariffs for Public Telecommunications and Postal Services” dated 24.10.2005 and the Procedure for Calculation of Tariffs and Tariff Plans for Local Voice Services approved by the Order of Russia’s Federal Tariff Service ? 198-s/1 dated 05.09.2006, according to which a communication operator must offer at least three obligatory tariff plans to the residential customers: with time-based, monthly subscriber fee and combined billing systems.

Starting from 1st February 2007 "Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC will offer these tariff plans to its residential customers.

Subscribers living in the Astrakhan region: Astrakhan, Znamensk, Akhtubinsky, Volodarsky, Kamyzyaksky, Chernoyarsky, Yenotaevsky, Privolzhsky, Narimanovsky, Kharabalinsky, Krasnoyarsky, Ikryaninsky and Limansky regions; Krasnodar kray: Krasnodar, Anapa, Starominskoy region; and Volgograd region: the cities of Volgograd and Volzhsky, will be among the first to choose the most beneficial tariff plan. In 2007 "Southern Telecommunications Company" PJSC will provide technical possibility of the time-based billing of local telephone connections in other regional and administrative centers of the Southern federal district. Subscribers residing in rural areas will be able to choose a tariff plan not earlier than in 2008.

A tariff plan providing for per-minute billing of local telephone services is designed for customers who make few local calls. The tariff plan includes payment for providing a subscriber line for permanent use (from 115 to 125 rubles depending on the region) and payment for each minute of local connection (17-20 kopecks per one minute of local connection depending on the region).

A tariff plan with a combined system of payment for local voice services is a new tariff plan designed for customers who make moderate number of outgoing local calls per month. The tariff plan implies payment for providing a subscriber line for permanent use (from 115 to 125 rubles depending on the region), payment for fixed number of minutes of local telephone calls (from 275 to 425 minutes per month depending on the region,  which makes from 55 to 85 rubles respectively)  and payment for each minute of local connection exceeding the fixed number of minutes of local telephone calls amounting to 14-16 kopecks per minute, accordingly.

A tariff plan with a monthly subscriber fee provides for unlimited number of local telephone calls at permanent monthly fee of 295 rubles (the price of providing a subscriber line for permanent use and the price of local connection).

If a subscriber fails to choose a new tariff plan, then the Company automatically switches him (her) over to the system of payment corresponding to the terms of payment for services stipulated in his(her) current agreement on the provision of local voice services (in line with the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law “On Communications” and the RF Government resolution ? 637 of 24.10.2005). At present the majority of UTK’s subscribers pays monthly subscriber fee. Since 1st February 2007 a new tariff plan providing for a monthly subscriber fee for unlimited number of local telephone calls will correspond to the previous monthly subscriber fee.

For the first time a customer can choose one of the three tariff plans free of charge. All other changes of the tariff plans will be chargeable in accordance with current rates. A customer will not be able to change a tariff plan more often than once a month.

Starting from 1st February 2007 the Company will introduce a fixed monthly subscriber fee ranging from 160 to 210 rubles depending on the region, in the regions where it is technically impossible to arrange the time-based billing of the duration of outgoing local calls.

Tariff plans for local voice services do not take into account telematic, data transmission, IP telephony and Internet services. Broadband access users will continue to choose suitable tariffs of DiSeL family. Dial-up users will pay for their Internet traffic as before: on credit or using Internet cards.

Detailed information about the tariff plans can be accessed at UTK’s service and call centers as well as at the corporate site www.stcompany.ru (use additional option – «Virtual Calculator»).

Tariffs for intra-zonal connections in the Krasnodar kray, Stavropol kray, Rostov region, Astrakhan region and Volgograd region will be reduced in the second tariff zone (from 101 to 600 km) to 3.85 rubles per minute. Tariffs for intra-zonal connections in other regions and tariff zones will not change.