Westbalt Telecom (merged with Golden Telecom)

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WestBalt Telecom is the largest alternative operator in Kaliningrad and the only alternative operator in Russia, outside Moscow and St Petersburg, which owns and operates its own intercity exchange. Westbalt Telecom was created as a joint venture among French France Telecom Cable & Radio (49%), Russian Elektrosvyaz Kaliningrad (41%), a local state-run telecom operator, and Russian Balticom (10%) in 1992. The company was created as result of a tender process won by France Telecom, becoming the first non-state venture granted operator status in Russia. The company was set up with an authorized capital of US$7.5 million in 1992. The equipment supply contract was signed with Alcatel Bell (Belgium). The Alcatel Bank (France) invested US$2.8 million in development of the project with a total sum of investments of US$4.6 million by 1997. The network is equipped with digital switchboards all existing telephone lines as well as to launch 20,000 new telephones. company started its commercial operations in November 1994 and had an installed capacity of 20,000 by 1997. Total project cost for a installed capacity of 120,000 lines was estimated in US$40 million of which US$20 million were planned to be spent during the first three years. By 2003 it has been allocated approximately 100,000 subscriber lines in Kaliningrad, of which approximately 65,000 are currently in use by clients: 15,000 of these lines are used by mobile operators; 19,000 are used by other operators; 7,500 are used by local corporates; 23,500 are used by residential customers. WestBalt Telecom recorded revenues of approximately $5.0 million in 2003. In April 2004 Golden Telecom completed the acquisition of 100% of the common shares in OAO Balticom Mobile (“Balticom”) that owned 62% of ZAO WestBalt Telecom for cash consideration of approximately $7.2 million. In 2008, Vimpelcom acquired Golden Telecom along with its shares in 8 units (including WestBalt Telecom). http://www.wbt.ru/wbt/