Fourth largest Russian operator places €30 million order
ZAO SMARTS, the fourth largest mobile provider in Russia, has commissioned Siemens Information and Communication Mobile (Siemens mobile) to deliver telecommunications equipment worth 30 million Euro. The order encompasses delivery, installation, and startup of GSM technology (transmission, reception, and switching systems), microwave systems, and GPRS network elements for the SMARTS subsidiary in central and southwestern Russia.
More than 500,000 mobile telephone subscribers in the urban centers of Yaroslavl, Czeboksary, Ivanovo, and Saransk in the central and east-European part of the country are to profit from the new network technology as of the end of 2004. “The dynamic development of SMARTS proves that regional providers are indeed growing into a weighty force in the Russian mobile telephony market and can definitely hold their own against established players”, said Christoph Caselitz, head of the Networks Division at Siemens Information and Communication Mobile in Munich. “We are pleased to be able to contribute to the growth of this company with our mobile technology.” The Russian market is one of the most important growth markets for Siemens. “We are the leading provider of mobile infrastructure in the country and want to further reinforce this position in the future”, said Caselitz.
“To provide our total of 1.5 million users with mobile networks, we have been relying on Siemens’ technical know-how for years”, explains Gennady Kiryushin, director general of SMARTS. “In the coming years, we want to further expand this strategic partnership, in order to strengthen our market position in Russia in the long term.”