Facts and Figures

Scale of "MegaFon" network: 368,540 units of controlled equipment, 35 million calls per hour, and 220 million SMS messages per day.

Communication in the sky

Nowadays, we take a mobile phone signal for granted to the extent that we sometimes appreciate it only when it disappears. And one of the places it always used to disappear was in an aircraft, where we were forced to be mobile-free for hours on end.

To rid airline passengers of this frustration, MegaFon teamed up with Russia’s largest air carrier, Aeroflot, and became the first Russian mobile phone network to enable customers to use their mobile devices in the sky.

We installed base stations on Aeroflot jets, enabling our mobile phone users (and subscribers of other networks with whom we have roaming agreements) to enjoy seamless mobile connectivity onboard. Meanwhile, we’ve also enabled passengers on long-haul Aeroflot flights to connect to the Internet via WiFi.

Fly MegaFon!

MegaFon and Aeroflot have literally lifted mobile communications to new heights, and we are busy cooperating in other areas. For instance, MegaFon subscribers can convert their MegaFon-Bonus points into Aeroflot Bonus miles, which they can use to book premium flights.

MegaFon subscribers earn one point for each 30 rubles (US$1) spent with us and can convert them at a favorable rate of one Aeroflot mile for five bonus points.

3d-generation networks (3G)

The mobile Internet has developed at a remarkable speed. By early 2010, according to a Web Index report by TNS Russia, a third of all Russian Internet users have used their mobile phones to access the Internet, and Russia is one of the five countries in the world with the highest mobile Internet penetration.

This didn’t happen by chance. MegaFon realized the potential of high-speed mobile Internet access, and pioneered the development of 3G networks. In October 2007 we became the first company in Russia to launch a 3G network using the UMTS standard, and in just over a year we built 3G networks in 21 regions, covering a third of the whole country and exceeding the targets set out in our license.

In 2008 we became Russia’s 3G market leader for geographical coverage. Our network was used for the country’s first international video call — connecting a ski resort in Russia with one in France and heralding the start of Russia’s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics, set to become the most innovative of all time. While stepping up the pace of penetration, we also became the first network to offer 3G services in Moscow. By the end of 2009, as well as being Russia’s market leader by coverage, we headed the field in revenues and subscribers. In fact, the mobile Internet boom has led to a threefold increase in traffic across our network.

Continuing 3g investment

Today, as well as further developing our networks, we are building a portfolio of related services for subscribers throughout Russia. We also continue to invest heavily in 3G infrastructure with capital expenditures approaching 60 billion Rubles (about $2 billion) in 2010 alone and the number of base stations supporting 3G reaching 15 thousand by the end of the year. Fiber-optic communication lines are a major strategic priority as they enable us to offer the maximum speed for mobile data transfer.

We are confident that our ceaseless drive to develop and introduce new technologies will enable us to maintain our market leadership.

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