PRESS: MTS Hikes Interconnection Fee for Minor Operators

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Prime-Tass) -- Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) hiked its interconnection fees for minor operators starting in October 2006, the company said in a report, Vedomosti business daily reported Monday.

MTS set the fee on average at 1.02 rubles per minute, up from 0.95 rubles that it charged starting July 1, 2006, the daily reported.

The fee charged by MTS varies depending on the region and traffic volumes generated by minor operators' users to MTS' network, an MTS spokeswoman said, Vedomosti reported.

Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom is still charging minor operators the same 0.95 rubles per minute of an incoming call and has not yet revised its fee, the daily reported. Russia's MegaFon charges minor operators 1.1 rubles per minute. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) challenged MegaFon's fee in late 2006, seeking to make the operator reduce it to 0.95 rubles, but the company appealed the antimonopoly watchdog's instruction. The court is expected to hear the case on Wednesday, the daily reported.

The three major operators charge each other 0.95 rubles per minute, attributing the lower fee to the higher volumes of traffic generated by their users compared to users of minor Russian mobile operators.

(26.2358 rubles - U.S. $1)

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Posted to the site on 19th February 2007