Sky Link Wants to Sell Internet Contracts Via MTS, MegaFon"

MOSCOW, Dec 4 (Prime-Tass) -- Russian CDMA operator Sky Link wants to sell its contracts for Internet access in a single package with mobile services contracts of GSM mobile operators MTS and MegaFon, Sky Link's PR Director Olga Pestereva said, Vedomosti business daily reported Monday.

Sky Link has already signed such an agreement with MTS and is holding negotiations with MegaFon, she said.

Sky Link is targeting GSM-users who are not satisfied with the speed of data transfer in the GSM network, Sky Link's Marketing Director Ivan Sukhorukov said, the daily reported.

GSM networks allow data transfer at a speed of up to 100 kilobits per second, while Sky Link's CDMA network has a speed of up to 2.4 megabits per second, the daily reported.

The single package will include Sky Link's radio modem, RUIM card (analogue of SIM card for CDMA networks), installation disk and the contract, Pestereva said, the daily reported.

The package is expected to be available for MTS' Moscow users sometime in January-March, while it has not been decided yet whether the campaign will be expanded to other regions, the daily reported.

Sky Link operates in the IMT-MC-450 standard, or CDMA450. Sky Link had 305,000 users as of January 1 and planned to increase that number to about 490,000 by the end of the year. The company has a license that covers 65 of Russia?s 88 regions where 104 million people, or 72% of Russia?s total population, reside.

The company controls about 0.25% of the Russian market, according to Sukhorukov, the daily reported.

MTS and MegaFon controlled 34% and 19% of the Russian market as of November 1, respectively, according to Advanced Communications & Media (AC&M) consultancy.

MTS and Sky Link are both affiliates of major Russian holding AFK Sistema.

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Posted to the site on 4th December 2006