OREANDA-NEWS. Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS" - NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has launched LTE network in the 800 MHz band range throughout the Moscow region. This enables MTS to greatly expand LTE coverage and ensures broader high-speed Internet access in population centers and suburban roadways.

The first LTE-800 MHz networks, which MTS now operates in over 300 population centers throughout the Moscow region, currently complement existing LTE networks. LTE-800 MHz provides four times greater coverage than "traditional" LTE-2600 MHz technology. It is used by MTS primarily to deploy 4G services in areas with frequency bandwidth restrictions and to provide higher-quality coverage of roads and towns in the Moscow region. Previously, on January 1, 2015, MTS launched LTE-1800 MHz network in Moscow.

Mr. Andrei Ushatskiy, MTS Vice-President, Chief Technology and Chief Information Officer, said, "The Moscow region is strategically important for MTS. We are actively investing in the development of the communications infrastructure in this crucial market. The networks we deploy are among the most advanced in the world, and we are focused on meeting customers' demand for both mobile and fixed-line high-quality data services. Today, there are only a few cities the size and scope of Moscow in the world that have LTE networks comparable to ours in terms of number of operated frequency bands. MTS subscribers have already had an opportunity to appreciate advantages of the new network; over the last year, the volume of LTE traffic generated by MTS subscribers has increased ten times with over half of smartphones' data traffic in the region being generated by LTE network users in early 2015."

Mr. Kirill Dmitriev, MTS Director of Macro-region Moscow, commented, "Our focus on the quality of data services has allowed MTS to strengthen its leadership in the Moscow market. Since the beginning of 2014, the number of LTE network users in the Moscow metropolitan area has increased four times to over one million people. Customers increasingly are shifting their usage habits to more data-intensive activities; today, two-thirds of new MTS subscribers choose bundled voice & data tariffs or special data options for Internet access. The advantages of using multi-band LTE networks are evident immediately; during the first month a customer gains access to a 'fourth generation' network, their traffic doubles. This obviously enables MTS to better monetize our customers and ensures that quality of coverage and speed of networks become factors in managing the customer's churn."

LTE Network Development in the Moscow Region

Enhancements to MTS's LTE-2600 MHz network, the launch of new LTE-1800 MHz and LTE-800 MHz networks allowed MTS to double its coverage of 4G networks in Moscow and the Moscow region over the past the year.

Key projects implemented during the past year included:

The installation of over 200 small cells in peak traffic areas.

The upgrade of over 2,000 LTE base stations to allow users of smartphones and tablets to access LTE-TDD network, which was previously reserved for modems and routers users.

The continued roll-out of fiber-optic lines, as the total length of MTS Group fiber-optic lines in Moscow and the Moscow region will exceed 50,000 kilometers by early 2015. Substantial progress in the construction of fiber lines allowed MTS to connect 99% of its base stations to fiber with the speeds ranging between 100 Mb/s and 1 Gb/s.

MTS's success in network development in Moscow and the Moscow region is reflected in the measurements recorded by Speedtest during the first nine months of 2014, which further represent MTS's market leadership in terms of the data transfer speeds in this market.