OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2012. Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” or the “Company” – NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces first in Russia commercial launch of the 3G network in the 900 MHz range in Moscow and the Moscow region. This will enable MTS to improve its 3G coverage and offer significantly faster speeds for subscribers.

MTS has already introduced more than 500 base stations in the 900 MHz range in Moscow region and plans to increase this number by the end of 2012. Primarily, the new 3G network will cover southern and southwestern Moscow as well as main transportation arteries across the city.

Andrei Ushatskiy, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of MTS, commented, “MTS is focused on extending the reach of the next-generation networks with the aim of enhancing the customer's experience using mobile communications and bringing our customers innovative services. The launch of 3G base stations in the 900 MHz range compliments networks already deployed in the 2100 MHz range. This allows us to increase 3G coverage and provide greater speeds in the areas where this was impossible due to the scarcity of higher-band frequencies”.

In March 2011, the State Committee for Frequencies enabled MTS to use the 900 MHz range for roll-out of 3G networks. In January 2012, MTS was the first operator in Russia to obtain 900 MHz range network certification for 3G use from the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor).