VimpelCom Wants Dialog with Minor Cos Without Regulators

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Prime-Tass) -- Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom wants to discuss interconnection fees with minor operators directly, without the interference of regulatory bodies, VimpelCom's Vice President Nikolai Pryanishnikov told a news conference Wednesday.

"We are ready for the open discussion of disputable issues with local operators without the involvement of regulatory bodies, according to normal business practices," Pryanishnikov said.

VimpelCom, as well as two other major Russian mobile operators MTS and MegaFon, recently introduced an interconnection fee of 0.95 rubles per minute for incoming calls among themselves, while charging other operators 1.1 rubles per minute.

Following the move, minor operators accused the three major companies of price discrimination, and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) initiated a probe against the three major operators.

Pryanishnikov said that some minor operators have had low tariffs for calls from their networks to VimpelCom's users. VimpelCom's spokespeople said that the company's costs per minute amount to 1.39 rubles, while the costs per minute of its key rival, MTS, stand at 1.43 rubles.

As of July 31, MTS had 34.4% of the Russian mobile market, VimpelCom had a 33.0% share and MegaFon controlled 18.7% of the market, while the rest was split among minor operators, according to Advanced Communications & Media (AC&M).

(26.7476 rubles - U.S. $1)

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Posted to the site on 30th August 2006