Uralsvyazinform plans to invest roughly $20 mln to roll out its own GSM-900/1800 cellular networks in the Sverdlovskregion, the company’s general director Vladimir Rybakin reported at a press conference in Ekaterinburg.

According to him, Siemens, a well-known Germanelectronics producer, was approved as the company’s electronic equipment supplier. To expand GSM cell network in the Sverdlovskregion, Uralsvyazinform intends to install a switching center for 500,000 telephone lines and 200 base stations.

 “Our GSM cellular network will be the best in terms of coverage. In the short term we are planning to develop cellular networks to cover not only big and smaller cities of the Sverdlovsk region but also other major highways (Ekaterinburg-Perm, Ekaterinburg-Chelyabinsk and Ekaterinburg-Tyumen)”, Uralsvyazinform’ general director was quoted as saying.

The company is scheduled to launch GSM-900/1800 cellular services in the Sverdlovskregion in 4Q 2004. But Vladimir Rybakinpointed out that it could happen earlier, if the company manages to work out certain issues with state authorities.

As Vladimir Rybakinstated, the equipment to be installed in the Sverdlovskregion will make it possible to provide a wide range of telecom services thanks to the Converse software, already in use at GSM network in the Permregion. Moreover, cellular subscribers will be offered E-GPRS services, which enable them to transmit data at a speed of 384 Kb/s, i.e. 2.5-times quicker than to date (153 Kb/s maximum).

Answering questions of journalists, Uralsvyazinform’s general director said that his company intends to settle all legal issues to finalize the consolidation of its cellular businesses within this year. To achieve this target Uralsvyazinform hired NIKoil investment company to work out the appropriate procedures.

He went on to say that the issue to be raised at the company’s board meeting aims at merging cellular assets into the super regional branch “GSM Cellular Services”. GSM-900/1800 cellular services are currently provided by Uralsvyazinform in the Perm region, Komi-Perm Autonomous District and in the near future in the Sverdlovsk region; by Ermak RMS, its subsidiary, which covers the Tyumen region, the Yamal-Nenets and the Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous Districts; and South Urals Cellular Phone, which operates in the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions, and also partially in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

“The consolidation of cellular assets will enable Uralsvyazinform to expand its GSM networks in all regions of its operations. If these plans are implemented, we plan to create a roaming-free cellular space in the Urals region and hope this news will be welcomed by our cellular subscribers. Moreover, the company intends to start providing cellular services under the new brand name”, the telecom operator’s general director pointed out.

As for the outlook of cellular operations, Vladimir Rybakinnoted that the company intends to retain its leadership position on the Urals cellular market, where it commands from 59% to75% of the market in regions of its operations and roughly a 50% market share in the Urals region. Uralsvyazinform’s target is to retain its current status as the leading cellular provider with the other 50% to be shared among other cellular operators. Recently the company witnessed a minor contraction of its market share in the Urals, since it was unable to provide GSM services in the Sverdlovskregion, but the situation will improve this year, the company’s CEO said.

It should also be noted that the telecom operator’s 2003 cellular subscriber base grew 150% to one million users and the company expects to expand it to 1.5 mln in the near future.