OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2012. Rostelecom OJSC (the “Group”) (MICEX - RTS: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), Russia’s national telecommunications operator, announces that the Company has test launched its first 3G network in the Irkutsk region, with its commercial launch expected in November 2012. Mobile data traffic has multiplied 1.5 times since the network’s test launch.

Pavel Zaitsev, Vice President and Director for Commerce of Rostelecom, commented: “Rostelecom has over 13 million mobile phone subscribers and as we continue to build 3G networks in 27 Russian regions, our competitive advantage in this space will be strengthened. We are building 3G networks using frequency licences obtained through the acquisition of Sky Link, mostly in regions where Rostelecom already has mobile operations. We aim to provide our customers with a high speed and high quality mobile Internet service, one that matches the quality of smartphone and tablet interfaces that are already popular across Russia. The HSPA+ technology that we used to build our first network in the Irkutsk region, supports transmission speeds of up to 21 MB/s, which really makes this a 3G+ network.”

Rostelecom will launch its commercial 3G network on the backbone of its CJSC BWC subsidiary network. 3G services will initially be available in Irkutsk and in 9 other regional cities. The network has already been test launched so that smartphone and tablet users with 3G connectivity can already benefit from having access to high data transmission speeds.

By the end of 2012 and in the first and second quarters of 2013, the Group will have launched commercial 3G networks in Primorsky and Perm Krai, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Tambov Oblast and Volgograd Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai and other regions. Rostelecom and its subsidiaries, NCC CJSC, BWC CJSC, ETK CJSC, Sky Link CJSC, Volgograd-GSM CJSC, AKOS CJSC and Wireless Information Technologies LLC, use GSM-900/1800 and CDMA-450 frequency bands to provide mobile services in 59 Russian regions.