OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2009. Ulyanovsk-GSM (a 100% subsidiary of VolgaTelecom) was folded into Nizhny Novgorod Cellular Communication on December 1, 2009.  This news was announced at a joint press conference held by the general director of VolgaTelecom Vladimir Rybakin and the general director of NCC, Mikhail Petrov.  The meeting was held on December 8 as a video bridge.  The managers of the companies talked about the restructuring stages of NCC and further plans to roll out the cellular business of the company, and also answered questions posed by journalists from Nizhny Novgorod and Ulyanovsk.

The decision of the Board of Directors of VolgaTelecom to restructure its subsidiaries was adopted on September 17, 2009.  The respective entry was made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on December 1, 2009.  NCC’s footprint currently extends to seven areas of the Volga Federal District (Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Penza, the Ulyanovsk region, the Republic of Mordovia, Tatarstan and the Republic of Chuvashia).  The entry of the Ulyanovsk mobile operator into NCC’s charter capital constitutes another stage in implementing VolgaTelecom’s strategy for the rollout of its cellular business in the Volga Federal District.

Ulyanovsk-GSM has been providing cellular telephony services under the NCC brand since December 2009.  At present, subscribers are being switched to uniform service standards, while tariff plans are being launched both for main and additional services.  The process is expected to be fully completed by the beginning of the second half of 2010. 

Since its inception in 1998 Ulyanovsk-GSM has held leadership positions in the mobile communication market of the region.   The company has managed to compete on an equal footing with the Big-3 operators thanks to its successful technical development, as well as its professional and well-trained staff.  Unbroken connectivity in 21 areas of the Ulyanovsk region is provided by 350 base stations.  Over 700 villages, towns and cities have access to the mobile telephony services of Ulyanovsk-GSM.  At the time when the Ulyanovsk-based company was merged to NCC, the operator had a subscriber base numbering about 500,000 and commanded 28% of the cellular market in the region.  Following restructuring, taking into account the subscribers of Ulyanovsk, the total subscriber base of NCC amounted to approximately 3.25 mln.  NCC ranks as one of the ten biggest cellular companies in Russia. 

The general director of VolgaTelecom Vladimir Rybakin had the following to say: “For VolgaTelecom, the cellular business is one of the top-priority areas of its activities.  By pooling its assets on the basis of NCC, we’re putting together a strong regional cellular company, thereby strengthening its market positions. In addition, rolling out the cellular business will make it possible to unlock our competitive advantages via convergence of the wireless and wireline businesses”.

The general director of NCC Mikhail Petrov had the following to say: “In order to strengthen its positions in the Ulyanovsk region NCC in 2010 plans to roll out about 160 base stations.  This will make it possible for the company to increase its coverage and raise the quality of its service mix, mainly as regards Internet access.  Additionally, the merger effect for Ulyanovsk-GSM will be shown in a decline in operating expenses, an increase in network infrastructure investments, and higher efficiency of customer service business processes”.