Russian Cellphone Penetration Rate Reaches 164 Percent
08.08.2013

Russian cellphone penetration rate reached 164 percent and continues growing
MOSCOW, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Russian mobile phone subscriptions stood at 234 million by the end of June, equal to 164 percent of the population, up from 230.4 million three months earlier, data from market research group AC&M showed on Thursday.
The total number of valid SIM cards was up 6.6 million from the same period a year ago. The number exceeds 100 percent because many people own several SIM cards. Russia's population reached 143 million in 2012, according to the Federal Statistics Service.
Megafon , Russia's second-biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers, said on Thursday it was buying next-generation service provider Scartel for $1.2 billion to extend its lead in the race to provide high-speed internet. AC&M provided the following data (millions of subscribers, including those in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan): June 30 March 31 Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) 102.77 101.84 of which in Russia 71.69 71.33
Vimpelcom* 106.93 107.15 of which in Russia 57.10 55.67
Megafon 66.04 64.85 of which in Russia 64.07 62.67
Tele2 Russia** 23.24 22.88 Rostelecom ** 13.77 13.60 Cellular Communications MOTIV* 2.38 2.36 SMARTS Group** 1.83 1.86 * = Vimpelcom's headline subscriber numbers are for Russia and the CIS block of former Soviet republics only. ** = All subscribers are in Russia. Russian market share breakdown by percentage as of June 30:
MTS Megafon Vimpelcom Others Russia 31.0 27.0 24.0 18.0 Moscow 37.0 27.0 35.0 0.6 St Petersburg 28.0 33.0 21.0 18.5 Regions 30.0 27.0 22.0 21.0
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/mobile-russia-idUSL6N0G93MD20130808