Primtelephone (merged with Mobile Telesystems- MTS)

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Primtelefon was established as a joint venture in July 1995 by local telecoms operator Electrosvyaz and the American Global Telesystems Group (later known as Golden Telecom). Primtelephone operated in Primorsky Krai and Sakhalin and had licenses for operation in the territories of the Russian Federation and Siberia with population of over 11 million. The company started operation in September 1995 providing cellular services using NTM-450 federal status. The reception zone covered Vladivostok and its suburbs, the airport, Artem and Nakhodka by 1997. The system was expected to cover the bulk of Primorski Krai in next few years. Prim Telephone had standardized Benefon handsets. In 1998 Primtelefon acquired a GSM 1800 license and end-2000 GSM 900 licence to cover all of the Russian Far East. It also opened a branch on Sakhalin. GSM 900/1800 was launched in August 2001 in Primorsk region and in September 2002 in Sakhalin. The company planned to open branches in Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Magadan and Kamchatka. In 2003 Primtelefon covered virtually all of southern and central Primorsky Kray. It had 30 base GSM/900 stations and 3 GSM/1800 base stations. In October 2000 Golden Telecom handed over all shares in its Russian mobile phone companies (including Primtelephone) to the MCT Corp which operated under the Indigo brand name. As a result, the shareholders of Primtelephone at the end of 2000 were Far Eastern Telecommunications Company, or Dalsvyaz (50%), and Vostok Mobile B.V. (50%), a subsidiary of U.S. telecoms holding company MCT Corp. In August 2003 Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) bought Vostok Mobile B.V. from the US MCT Corp and thus acquired a 50% stake in Primtelephone. In 2004 Mobile TeleSystems (or MTS) bought the remaining 50% in Primtelephone from Dalsvyaz for some $31 million, and become the sole owner of the company. Indigo brand name. In 2004 MTS brand name.