CenterTelecom (merged with Rostelecom)

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JSC CenterTelecom provides fixed local telephone services through its own network in Central Russia. It also provides Internet, IP telephony, data transmission, wave and cable television services and uses Rostelecom's infrastructure to provide national and international services. The company serves the most densely populated area, covering about 26.2% of the total population with the highest per capita income in the country. The company is one of the seven mega regional companies in which Svyazinvest, the state-owned holding of telecommunications companies in Russia, consolidated its 74 regional fixed line operators in 2002-2003. The other six companies were North-West Telecom, Volga Telecom, South Telecom, Uralsvyazinform, Siberia Telecom and Far East Telecom (Dalsvyaz). JSC CenterTelecom resulted from the merge of the 17 regional telecommunications operators in Central Russia that took place in November 2002. The company was named after CenterTelecom, previously known as AO Moscow Electrosvyaz, which was fixed line provider in Moscow oblast. The other 16 operators merged were: Belsvyaz, Bryansksvyazinform, Voronezhsvyazinform, Ivtelecom, Lipetskelectrosvyaz, Smolensksvyazinform, Tambov Elektrosvyaz, Tulatelecom, Vladimir Region Elektrosvyaz, Kaluga Region Elektrosvyaz, Kostroma Region Elektrosvyaz, Kursk Region Elektrosvyaz, Oryol Region Elektrosvyaz, Ryazan Region Elektrosvyaz, Tver Region Elektrosvyaz, and Yartelecom. Svyazinvest controled JSC CenterTelecom, owning 51% of voting shares and 38% of common shares. Foreign investors owned 8%, and other small shareholders have 41% of voting stock. The divestiture of JSC CenterTelecom took place in 1993 when the regional fixed line operators were corporatized and, in most cases, 49% of their voting shares were transferred to the public through the Russian voucher privatization program. At the end of 2004 JSC Central Telecommunication Company had a total of 630,000 wired communications subscribers and 113,400 mobile subscribers. CenterTelecom was number five in Russia in terms of communications services sales volume. On April 1, 2011, several companies below merged into Rostelecom: Center Telecom (3171), Skylink (1321), Dalsyaz (3181), Sibirtelecom (3180), Uralsinform (3177), Volgatelecom (3174), North-West Telecom (3173), Southern Telecommunications Company (3175), Dagsvyazinform (1225). % private 71.5 = (62% private) + 9.5% ( 38% Svyazinvest, which is 25% private). http://www.centertelecom.ru/ru/about/about/