VolgaTelecom (merged with Rostelecom)

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JSC VolgaTelecom (VT, formerly known as NizhegorodSvyazinform) was partially privatized in 1993 by the Russian government, through the national voucher program. The government maintained operational control over the company, holding 51% of voting shares and 38.5% of common shares. VT provided fixed local telephone services through its own network in the Volga Federal District and used Rostelecom's infrastructure to provide national and international services. VT also provided Internet, IP telephony, data transmission, wave and cable television services. JSC VolgaTelecom was headquartered in Nizhny Nogorod and served an area with a population of 32 million, of which 70% lived in urban communities. The company was reorganized in November 2002 as one of seven mega-regional companies in which Svyazinvest, the state-controlled holding company, consolidated its 74 regional fixed line operators. JSC VolgaTelecom was the third largest company in the Svyazinvest structure, created by merging 11 regional telecommunications operators from the Upper and Middle Volga region into existing NizhegorodSvyazinform. The 11 regional operators were: Kirovelektrosvyaz, Martelekom, Mordovia Svyazinform, Orenburg Elektrosvyaz, Penza Svyazinform, Samara Svyazinform, Saratovelektrosvyaz, the Telecom Networks of the Udmurtia Republic, Ulyanovsk Elektrosvyaz and Svyazinform of the Chuvashia Republic. The other six mega-regional companies created by Svyazinvest in 2002 were: CenterTelecom North-West Telecom, South Telecom, Uralsvyazinform, Siberia Telecom and Far East Telecom (Dalsvyaz). At the end of 2004 Svyazinvest controlled JSC VolgaTelecom, owning 38.5% of common shares and 51% of voting shares. Foreign institutional investors held 24.66% of VT shares and employees and managers owned the remaining 12.31%. At the end of 2009, the company had 4,752,000 fixed and local connections, and 3,832,000 mobile connections. 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 http://www.vt.ru Company merged into Rostelecom in Q2, 2011