MTS Belorus

MTS is the mobile operator of Belarus by the number of subscribers. As of January 1, 2014, MTS had 5.39 million subscribers, of which 1.7 million constantly use mobile Internet. MTS communication is available on 98.4% of the territory of Belarus, where 99.85% of the country's population lives - almost 6,700 base stations provide communication, of which 1,942 are 3G communication facilities. Most of the third generation base stations have been switched to DC-HSDPA high-speed packet data technology, which allows you to access the Internet at speeds up to 42 Mbps.

Performance indicators

2025: Revenue growth by 7.8% to RUB 1.84 bn

In 2025, MTS revenue in Belarus increased by 7.8% and reached 1.84 billion bel rubles. (49.3 billion rubles). The company's net profit increased by 10% to 487 million bel rubles. The subscriber base in 2025 decreased by 1.8% to 5.6 million. The OIBDA indicator of Belarusian MTS grew by 7% and amounted to 847 million bel rubles. This is stated in the annual report of the Russian MTS PJSC in March 2026^[1]

2011

As of September 2011, MTS serves 4.7 million Belarusian subscribers.

History

• In 2001, the Belarusian MTS was created by the eponymous Russian company MTS, which won a license in the republic. However, the Russians received only 49% of the shares in the company, and so could not increase their share to control.

• In 2005, the Belarusian authorities appointed their general director Vladislav Karpovich to MTS, pushing back Russian Andrei Rumyantsev.

• In the spring of 2011, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko offered the Russian MTS to buy out a controlling stake in their "daughter" for $1 billion, threatening to put it up for auction otherwise. The Russians replied that they were interested in consolidating the Belarusian MTS, but at a reasonable price. In the event of an auction, MTS promised to sell their share too.

• In September 2011, it became known that the State Property Committee of Belarus decided to hold an auction to sell 51% of the shares of the local mobile operator MTS owned by the state "Beltelecom." The auction will take place on December 1, 2011, the starting price is $1 billion. Applications are accepted until November 15, participants must transfer a deposit of $50 million by November 28.

For the fact that the auction was recognized as held, one participant is enough to offer a price 5% higher than the starting one. The settlement unit is the US dollar in order to avoid speculation at the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble. The starting price is determined in accordance with the estimate of the'Institute of Real Estate and Valuation'.

MTS declined to comment on the upcoming auction. The company also does not say how much this asset is estimated, but the head of the State Property Committee Georgy Kuznetsov revealed the amount offered by the Russians: $400-500 million. Kuznetsov also spoke in favor of changing the charter of the cellular operator, which does not allow the controlling shareholder to make strategic decisions alone.

A source in one of the Russian telecommunications companies doubts that the authorities of the republic will be able to find a buyer for $1 billion. 'In Belarus, a saturated market and a difficult macroeconomic situation, The government is simply trying to fill the budget at any cost, and after Lukashenka's $1 billion price, the authorities cannot make the starting price lower. "Lukashenka is primarily a tactician, not a strategist," said Stanislav Belkovsky, director of the Institute for National Strategy. "His task now is to shake the situation, to heat up passions, and he will make the final decision on the future of the asset in the last 24 hours^[2]."

• In January 2014, the Belarusian authorities reduced the starting price of the state share in the mobile operator MTS from $1 billion to $863 million. The Russian MTS OJSC, which owns 49% in the joint venture, previously refused to participate in the auction due to the overpriced, in his opinion, price. However, then he again confirmed his interest in buying a Belarusian asset.