Open Joint Stock Company

Investment Telecommunications Company

(Svyazinvest)

Str. 2, Plyushchikha 55, Moscow, 119121;

www.svyazinvest.ru

INFORMATIONDEPARTMENT

Telephone: (095) 727-0418, facsimile: (095) 727-0475;

pr@svyazinvest.ru

13.08.2004                                  Moscow

The executive board of Svyazinvest held a meeting to discuss implementation of the unified technical policy aimed at installing automatic billing systems (ABS) at the holding’s subsidiaries. G.M. Finger, executive director of Moscow’s representative office of NCH Advisors. Inc, also attended the meeting as a representative of the independent directors.

The executive board adopted the following decisions:

 - to approve the results of the tender committee tasked with selecting the unified ABS and the general consultant in charge of introducing the unified ABS;

 - to approve installation of Amdocs’ unified ABS at the telecom holding’s related companies and appoint IBM the general contractor (in line with a decision dated 15.03.2004 of the Tender committee, Amdocs’ proposal was announced to be the best and IBM Global Consulting Services won the tender to act as the general consultant of the ABS project);

 - to raise this issue at a board meeting of Rostelecom and the super regional telecom operators in accordance with the established procedure.

Amdocs offered a package of billing products (Amdocs Billing Suite) to be installed at the super regional telecom entities and Rostelecom. The package includes the following modules:

§ Amdocs Billing Platform;

§ Amdocs Inter-Connect Settlements/Partner Relationship Management;

§ Integrated customer Management (including Amdocs Advanced Online Customer Management) and Amdocs Trouble Ticketing);

§ Amdocs Order Management;

§ Amdocs e Care (a specialized module for corporate and VIP customers will make it possible to manage personal accounts and services on-line).

Amdocs proposed to Rostelecom and the super regional telecom operators (i) an unlimited billing license for all telecom services; (ii) participation of Amdocs specialists at all ABS implementation phases; (iii) long-term technical support for the licensed products. According to Amdocs’ tender bid, IBM Global Consulting Services was named as general contractor of the project.

Based on international and own experience in realization of large projects, IBM GCS has proposed  installingl ABS in three phases. The first phase involves detailed analysis of requirements and elaboration of the project implementation scheme. The second is to work out the Master System for the super regional telecom concerns, adapt billing solutions and implement them at Rostelecom and the last phase is to make use of experience gained from the second phase and install ABS at all super regional telecom operators. Project  implementation is estimated at 4-5 years.

The unlimited license under Amdocs Billing Suit will cost all super regional telecom operators and Rostelecom about $200 mln, while advisory services will net IBM GCS another $25 mln.

According to the terms of the contract between Svyazinvest and IBM, super regional telecom operators and Rostelecom will get a 50% discount on the group license and be able to pay for it by installments over the next year and a half.

Sergei Kuznetsov, first deputy general director of Svyazinvest:

At present, Svyazinvest’s subsidiaries operate about 186 different billing systems. This means that the telecom holding lacks a  unified information network and has to bear high costs to maintain these billing systems. Moreover, with no efficient customer communication systems it will be difficult for Svyazinvest’s subsidiaries to gain new customers on the highly competitive telecom market. A unified ABS will allow the telecom holding to streamline its business processes, roll out value added services, guarantee high quality support of a multi-million client base and transparency of customer-related transactions. According to some calculations, the project will lift the telecom holding’s revenues by $180 mln per year and cut operating expenses by $60 mln per year. Eventually, the switch to the advanced and well-known ABS will produce a positive impact on the telecom operators’ market cap and make them more competitive.

Svyazinvest’s corporate structure consists of seven super regional telecommunications companies: Center Telecom, North West Telecom, Volga Telecom, South Telecommunication Company, Uralsvyazinform, Siberia Telecom, Far East Telecom; national LD and ILD operator Rostelecom, 6 telecom operators, not participating in the nationwide telecom restructuring process and the industry research institute Giprosvyaz. Telecom carriers hold licenses and provide local, LD and ILD services, data transmission, Internet access, ISDN wireless subscribe access and cellular services in GSM, NMT-450, AMPS and DAMPS standards. Svyazinvest employs over 350,000 people.

US electronic equipment producer Amdocs brilliantly combines advanced software and services with profound knowledge of business practices and offers leading international telecommunication, high-tech and financial companies integrated client relations management solutions. Amdocs enables its clients to achieve their strategy targets, enjoy high ROI rates, cut operating expenses and enhance performance.  Amdocs employs over 9,000 people in more than 40 countries around the world. Amdocs’ FY 2003 earnings stood at roughly $1.5 bln. For more detailed information on the company, see https://www.amdocs.com

IBM is the world’s largest corporation providing hardware solutions. For more than 90 years the corporation has been an unrivaled leader in working out and implementing advanced business solutions. Thanks to its own powerful resources and those of its partners operating in over 170 countries around the globe, IBM provides a range of services, solutions and technologies that help any company take full advantage of advanced e-business products. IBM Global Services is the company’s largest consulting arm that exhibits robust rates of development.