OREANDA-NEWS. On 08 July 2008 Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” – NYSE: MBT), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, and MySpace Russia, the local version of the leading international social network, announced a partnership to develop and promote solutions for the subscribers of MTS Russia.

 Under the terms of the partnership, MTS and MySpace will develop an exclusive service for the subscribers of MTS Russia that will become part of MTS’ WAP-portal. In addition, the companies are planning to launch an MTS-branded community on MySpace Russia website to drive usage and support the partnership.

“We are looking forward to introducing over 60 million customers of MTS in Russia, the largest subscriber base in the country, to the leading social network, MySpace,” said Pavel Roytberg, product and service development director of MTS Russia.

Roytberg continued, “This partnership fits well into our strategy of providing Web 2.0 and social networking capabilities for our subscribers. The new service from MySpace on our WAP-portal will also allow us to explore innovative marketing initiatives, such as viral marketing. The pairing of the leading mobile and social networking brands will bring increased portability and greater access to customers of both MTS and MySpace and enrich the mobile user experience.”

“MySpace is known for its networking and creative solutions which revolutionized social networking. It is a place for everyone – whether you are a global celebrity or an aspiring artist,” noted Aleksandr Turkot, general director of MySpace Russia. “This partnership with MTS is a key strategic move for MySpace, allowing us to give Russian customers unprecedented access to networking via their mobile phones. Our brands are built on providing high quality communication and networking experience and our partnership will allow us to develop many new exciting services for our customers.”

MTS is the leader in value-added services (VAS) in Russia, with a 32% market share of VAS revenues and a 43.2% share of mobile content revenues in Q1’2008 . The partnership with MySpace builds on MTS’ commitment to developing advanced content and data solutions for  customers to allow mobile access to communication and information sources previously only available at home.

In January 2008, MTS became the first Russian company to receive a nomination in the 13th Annual Global Mobile Awards hosted by the GSM Association for its WAP-portal designed specifically for children.

1) According to ComNews Research, “VAS Market in Russia, Q1’2008” report.