GSM>3G Russia / CIS Congress and Exhibition in Moscow

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As expected, Russia's big three mobile operators are to receive the initial three 3G licenses issued by the Government. In total, twelve 3G bids had been submitted following publication of the tender rules in December 2006. Among those to lose out were Tele2 subsidiary Chelyabinsk Cellular Communications and New Telephone Company, based in Vladivostok. Informa Telecoms & Media's annual GSM>3G Russia / CIS conference and exhibition offers a unique opportunity to do so, taking place this year June 5-6 in Moscow.

The licensing situation now finally clear, the next battle will be the race actually to roll out 3G services. MTS is planning to provide services in the largest few cities before the end of 2007, well ahead of any obligatory targets set by the Government. The company has also announced that right away subscribers will benefit from HSDPA technology, supporting video calls, video conferencing and mobile TV over 3G network. VimpelCom and Russia's third-placed operator MegaFon have said less about their deployment plans.

This recent confirmation of the big three operators' 3G licence wins does not mean that the licensing story is necessarily over. A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Communications Agency has reportedly told Russian business daily Kommersant that a fourth 3G license will be awarded in 2007, saying that it would assign frequencies currently utilised by SkyLink, a CDMA operator that has been trialling a 3G service for a number of years.

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