iBasis, a KPN affiliate, today announced that MTS Ukraine, the second largest mobile operators in Ukraine, has interconnected with The iBasis Network for international voice services. The interconnection with iBasis enables MTS Ukraine to route its international mobile voice traffic over The iBasis Network and expands iBasis’ ability to complete mobile calls in the country.
Founded in 1996, iBasis is a leading wholesale carrier of international long distance telephone calls and a provider of retail prepaid calling services and enhanced services for mobile operators. iBasis customers include KPN, KPN Mobile, E-Plus, BASE, and many other large telecommunications carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile, China Unicom, IDT, Qwest, Skype, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and Yahoo. In October 2007, iBasis acquired KPN Global Carrier Services to create one of the three largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world, and KPN became a majority stockholder of iBasis. On a pro forma basis, the combined company carried approximately 24 billion minutes of international voice traffic in 2007.Intense competition in mobile and in the international wholesale market are driving operators worldwide to find more competitive solutions based on quality, efficiency, scale and profitability. Mobile operators are also looking for future-proof solutions that will help them to compete in the new arena of converged technologies and services.
Andrey Dubovskov, CEO of MTS Ukraine said in a press statement:
“Instant scalable access to international infrastructure allows us to grow our traffic while continuing to offer world standard services to our mobile subscribers. As one of the top mobile network operators in Europe, it is important for us to work with leading providers in different telecom branches, including IP-telephony. iBasis has the proven high quality and industry-leading expertise we need.”
Like many telecoms markets, growth in Ukraine continues to be fuelled by mobile expansion. By the end of February 2008, there were more than 55 million mobile subscribers in Ukraine, with mobile penetration over 118 percent. To continue growth and profitability, mobile operators are increasingly focusing on expanding lifetime revenue and profit per customer, and mastering a more competitive market situation.