Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) says that it has launched 3G networks in Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk, bringing the total count of cities covered to 10. When MTS launched the first pan-regional 3G network in Russia in May 2008 it began with St. Petersburg followed by Sochi, Yekaterinburg and Kazan.
In August 2008, MTS expanded its 3G network to Nizhniy Novgorod. In September 2008, the Company brought next-generation networks to Novosibirsk and Norilsk, the two large industrial centers in Siberia, and Vladivostok, the largest city in the Russian Far East.
Mr. Aleksander Popovskiy, Head of MTS Russia said: “We are seeing very strong demand for data services in the regions where 3G networks were launched. For example, in Yekaterinburg we saw mobile Internet traffic grow more than 30 percent in three months following the launch of the network. We believe that the residents of Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk will also become avid users of our services available on our 3G network.”
MTS intends to launch 3G networks in at least 14 cities during 2008 and in up to 40 cities in Russia through 2009. The Company also holds 3G licences in Uzbekistan and Armenia, where the networks are scheduled for launch in 2009.
Irkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated 5,185 KM (3,222 miles) by rail from Moscow. Chelyabinsk is located just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on Miass River. It is the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast.