MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--The number of Russian mobile phone subscriptions rose 2.0 million in April to 192.82 million, with OAO Vimpel Communications (VIP) slightly increasing its market share at the expense of OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT), consultants Advanced Communications & Media said Monday.
Penetration, or the percentage of all Russians using a mobile
phone, rose to 132.8% in April from 131.4% in March.
AC&M's penetration rate represents the number of valid SIM
cards per 100 people and reflects that many people have more than
one phone, especially in the bigger cities.
AC&M gave the following breakdown of the largest operators'
subscriber details for Russia. The figures don't include
subscribers of MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon elsewhere in the former
Soviet Union.
Operator April March On Month
MTS 65.68 Mln 65.11 Mln +572,000
VimpelCom 49.98 Mln 49.35 Mln +627,000
MegaFon 44.05 Mln 43.52 Mln +524,000
Tele2 10.78 Mln 10.65 Mln +125,000
Company Web site: www.acm-consulting.com
-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 937 8445;
william.bland@dowjones.com