OREANDA-NEWS. February 14, 2008. On 29 November 2007, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution N 815, which introduced changes to the Regulations concerning the provision of universal telecommunications services (approved by Resolution N 241 of the Government of the Russian Federation of 21.04.2005). In view of this, OJSC North West Telecom is planning to provide access to calls to mobile telephones to universal service payphone users from 01 February 2008. The tariffs for calls from universal service payphones to cellular numbers will correspond to the intrazonal, intercity and international call tariffs: a pay-as-you-go system counting from the first second of connection.

The tariff for calls from universal service payphones stationed in regional and republican centres to mobile phone numbers registered in the same regional (republican) centre, will be equal to 1.50 rubles per minute. The connection will be regarded as intrazonal and charged as a call from a fixed line to a cell phone number registered in the same regional (republican) centre.

Subscribers making calls to mobile phones from universal service payphones located in other regional (republican) localities, will be charged according to local intrazonal connection tariffs, equal to 2.25 rubles per minute (for Central Branches of OJSC North West Telecom ) or 2.50 rubles (for Northern Branches).

In the event of a subscriber making a call from a universal service payphone to a cell phone registered in a different region (e.g. if a call is made from a payphone in Murmansk Region to a mobile phone registered in St Petersburg or Moscow), such a connection will be regarded as an intercity call and charged according to long-distance operator tariffs.

OJSC North West Telecom provides universal telecommunications services in all the regions and republics of the North-West Federal District. This is a complex and socially important challenge which the Company is happy to accept since it is fully aware that communication services should be available to all citizens of Russia.

At present, according to the conditions of universal telecommunications service tenders won by OJSC North West Telecom, over 13.5 thousand payphones have been installed in the towns and villages of the North-West Federal District (including localities which had no central telephone lines). A further 12.3 thousand payphones will be installed by the end of the year 2008.