OREANDA-NEWS. St Petersburg. MegaFon announces the beginning of rendering telecommunications services of third generation (3G) in St Petersburg and Leningrad Region.

On October 24, 2007, MegaFon, while realizing license for rendering IMT–2000/UMTS mobile services, starts rendering 3G services on the territory of St Petersburg and Leningrad Region. MegaFon is the first among Russian GSM-operators to offer unique advantages of 3G mobile telecommunications to its subscribers.

"We have been going a long way towards this event. MegaFon witnessed the beginnings of 3G in Russia: the company, represented by its North West branch, was one of the founders of The Third Generation Telecommunication Networks Operators Association, established in December 1999. We tested a number of innovative mobile services and implemented many advanced solutions on test sites in Moscow and St Petersburg. This spring MegaFon showed the best tender result - 560 points – and acquired license №1 for deployment of UMTS. Only half a year later, having combined our theoretical research and practical experience from operating UMTS network in Tajikistan, we made first commercial product for users of 3G services in Russia. And now we will move on", comments Sergey Soldatenkov, CEO OJSC “MegaFon”.

"UMTS is the most popular 3G standard in the world; it is used by the majority of 3G networks. We think this direction is the right one for future development of network. We have a broad audience of users of high-tech services, and today we are delighted to offer them first services of new generation - high speed data transmission and video communication", says Alexander Volkov, General Director, North-West branch of OJSC "MegaFon".

UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network), including 30 base stations, is implemented into MegaFon’s 3G network. Nokia Siemens Networks supplied equipment for the first subnetwork, providing umbrella coverage on the territory of St Petersburg and partially Leningrad region. In St Petersburg 3G services are available in Central and Vasileostrovsky districts, at the most important transportation centers   (railway stations, airports "Pulkovo 1", "Pulkovo 2"), and also in Pushkin. Currently, owing to use of 3.5G HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), network infrastructure allows to reach up to 3.6 Mbit/s data transmission rate.

For the first time in Russia vast opportunities of new mobile communications become available to wide range of users: access to the Internet at the rate ten times higher than data transmission rate with use of all technologies (GPRS/EDGE) operating in GSM 2G and 2.5G networks, high quality "Mobile TV", video communication. Since October 24, 2007 subscribers of MegaFon North-West network may use service of simultaneous transmission of voice and image - "Video call". The service is available in 3G coverage area providing that both subscribers have UMTS handsets. The price of an outgoing call (to a subscriber of North West branch of OJSC “MegaFon”) in terms of the service is 5 rubles including VAT per minute of video call; incoming video calls are free of charge.

On October 24, 2007 MegaFon North-West starts subscription to "Luxe Express", the first tariff plan for users of 3G services, the subscriber base of which (1200 rubles including VAT for federal numbers, 1700 rubles including VAT for federal numbers with additional city number) includes 500 Mb of traffic under "Mobile Internet" service, 500 minutes of outgoing calls to fixed phones of St Petersburg and to numbers of mobile operators of St Petersburg and unlimited traffic inside MegaFon North-West network, as well as "Express 500" and "Express 1000" tariff options (packages of 500 and 1000 Mb of traffic under "Mobile Internet" service of 1200 and 1500 rubles including VAT respectively).


Registration in 3G is automatic; subscribers of MegaFon North-West and visitors do not need a new SIM-card or to change their usual number. In order to use services one needs only UMTS handset. UMTS data transmission rate is sufficient for convenient browse of WEB pages and quality mobile TV. However, the most exacting subscribers may use data transmission services at mach higher rate – up to 3.6 Mbit/sec. This opportunity is available for users of HSDPA handsets. In the long view MegaFon North-West plans to provide full 3G coverage on the territory of St Petersburg and to increase data transmission rate upon HSDPA.