Uralsvyazinform (merged with Rostelecom)

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In November 2002 JSC Uralsvyazinform was picked to become one of seven mega regional companies in which Svyazinvest, the state-controlled holding telecommunications company, consolidated its 74 regional fixed line operators. Six operators from the Urals region were merged into the existing JSC Uralsvyazinform: Uraltelecom of the Sverdlovsk region, Cheliabinsk Svyazinform, Tiumentelecom, Kurgan Electrosvyaz, Khanty-Mansiysk Okrtelecom and Yamal Electrosvyaz. The merger created the leading fixed and mobile operator in the Urals Federal District and Perm oblast, an area with total population of 15.5 million, some 80% urban residents. Uralsvyazinform was headquartered in Perm oblast. In 2004 the company accounted for 87% of the local telephony market and 92% of long distance services. Prior to 2002 JSC Uralsvyazinform had been a small regional operator, controlled by Svyazinform. The company was partially privatized in 1993-1994, together with other regional fixed line operators. In most cases, 49% of their shares were transferred to the public through the Russian voucher privatization program. During 2002 -2003 Svizinform decided to consolidate its local operators into seven large regional companies. Uralsvyazinform was chosen for the Urals and Perm area. The other six chosen operators were CenterTelecom, North-West Telecom, Volga Telecom, South Telecom, Siberia Telecom and Far East Telecom (Dalsvyaz). At the end of 2004 Svyazinvest owned 51.42% of JSC Uralsvyazinform voting shares. ING Bank Eurasia ZAO held 17.17% of shares, and the rest were held by investors with under 6% stakes. In 2004 Uralsvyazinform provided fixed local telephone services through its own network and national and international services through Rostelecom's infrastructure. Uralsvyazinform and its subsidiaries also offered mobile communication services on GSM-900/1800, NMT-450i, DAMPS-800 and CDMA standards in the Urals district and Perm oblast. In December 2003 Uralsvyazinform was granted a ten year GSM900/1800 license for the Sverdlovsk and Ekaterinburg regions. Since 2003 the company has been the 4th largest national mobile operator. At the beginning of 2006 the company had some 3.8 million fixed line customers and 3.6 million mobile subscribers. 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). http://eng.svyazinvest.ru/fdir/ http://www.uralsviazinform.com % private investment = 12.75% (svyazinvest, which is 25% privately owned) + 48.2% (rest of private investors) 2008 capex calculated based on info obtained in the AR 2010 capex not available as the company merged into Rostelecom in Q2, 2011