Personal Systems Network in Region (merged with Tele2 Russia)

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Personal Systems Network in region (PSN) in Nizhny Novgorod received its license for the operations of an AMPS 800 cellular network in February 1993. The company was created in 1992 as a limited liability partnership formed by Millicom International Cellular (65%) and the remainder split among five Russian companies, including US West, and Argumenti Fakty (Russia). The company started its commercial operations in February 1994. The network consisted of 6 base stations and had 3000 subscribers by 1997. The company services the territory with the population of 4.5 million. The Russian Ministry of Communications issued three more licenses for cellular operations (in NMT 450, GSM 900, and CDMA networks) for this region. The company's main competitor was Nizhegorodskaya Cellular Communications that operates a GSM 900 network. The company had 7,390 subscribers by end of 1999. Millicom provided its services in Russia under the brand name FORA Telecom and held controlling stakes in 12 operators covering a population of 48 million. The regions covered by the FORA group were: Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Belgorod, Izhevsk (Republic of Udmurtiya), Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Smolensk, Rostov-on-Don, Chelyabinsk. The holding's Russian cellular operators had a total base of 165 thousand subscribers in various parts of Russia in 2001. Since entering the market, Millicom invested over US $100 million into Russian economy. In December 2001 the shares of Millicom in 12 Russian companies were acquired by Tele2 AB which, along with Millicom, is part of the Kinnevik group. The assets included 11 AMPS carriers and the Moscow Cellular Communications NMT 450 MHz carrier. Tele2 AB paid $80 million for the assets and promised another $30 million after the AMPS carriers, which had to abandon their spectrum according to an agreement with the Communications Ministry, received GSM 1800 MHz licenses. After the acquisition, all of Tele2 subsidiaries switched to Tele2 brand. Tele2 planned to invest up to US$80 million in GSM communications in Russia in 2003. The GSM-1800 license was issued to Personal Systems Network in 2002 for 10 years. GSM-1800 network was expected to be operational in Nizhny Novgorod in March 2004. Brand name FORA Telecom (until 2001), Tele2 (after mid-2001). Starting from 2001 subscribers base is available only for FORA Telecom as a total and there is limited info about individual companies. US$80 million investment (to be invested in Tele2 holdings - 11 companies in Russia in 2003) was added to the project: Sankt-Peterburg Telecom and Oblcom