Rostelecom, Russia’s national telecommunications operator, has acquired Sky Link CJSC, which currently owns licences in 76 Russian regions. The licenses cover over 90% of the total Russian population, which includes Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other major Russian cities. Sky Link’s licences enable the Company to provide services using CDMA-450 and UMTS-1900/2100 technologies in 65 regions, CDMA-450/2000 in 3 regions, GSM-1800 in 45 regions and GSM-900 in one region.
Alexander Provotorov, President of Rostelecom, commented: “The strategic acquisition of Sky Link enables us to strengthen our competitive position and increase the value of our Company. This was the last asset available in the market that could offer such extensive network coverage and unique frequencies. Sky Link is also the fourth operator to have obtained the remaining 3G frequencies in Russia. In addition, the consolidation of Sky Link’s assets marks an important landmark in our complex reorganisation process, which merges Svyazinvest with Rostelecom. The aim of this process is to eliminate any cross-ownership between the two companies, to simplify our shareholder structure and help attract interest from a broader range of investors.”
