Vivacell-MTS (Win Mobile)

Owners

At the time of the launch of the network in August 2014, the name of the ultimate beneficiary of the K-Telecom operator remains unknown. According to the Contour-Focus system, Vivacell-MTS LLC, created on May 15, 2014, is 100% owned by Mobile Telesystems OJSC. However, MTS representative Elena Kokhanovskaya at the end of June 2014 claimed that these Vivacell-MTS did not receive frequencies, and they were issued to another company with the same name^[1].

In the Unified State Register of Legal Entities there is a record of another "Vivacell-MTS" registered in Krasnodar on May 23, 2014, whose activities are declared "telephone communications." This company is 100% owned by the Armenian CJSC "Sale Group World Wide Holding" and is managed by Boris Borunov.

Earlier, a man named Boris Borunov worked as the director of the Crimean territorial administration MTS Ukraine, however, according to Elena Kokhanovskaya, he resigned from the company, and now does not maintain contact with it. In a conversation with CNews, Kokhanovskaya categorically denied MTS's affiliation with Krasnodar "Vivacell-MTS," "since they have another founder."

History

2024: Mobile Internet appeared in LPR

On January 17, 2024, telecommunications operators Vivacell-MTS (+ 7Telecom brand) and Miranda Media launched mobile Internet in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Prior to that, such a service in the region "in test mode" was provided only by the local ISS operator. Read more here.

2022: Cellular communications in Crimea will receive multibillion-dollar investments

In October 2022, IC Group, which a few months earlier became the owner of the two largest Crimean mobile operators - Vivacell-MTS and KTK-Telecom, announced the investment of at least 5 billion rubles in the development of telecommunications on the peninsula. Read more here.

2014: Network launch after Crimea's annexation to Russia

In August 2014, the first Russian cellular network Vivacell-MTS began operating in Crimea.

During a videoconference meeting on the development of communications in Crimea under the leadership of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolai Nikiforov, who is in Crimea, asked for permission to turn on the network online, after which the K-Telecom network began working.

As reported by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, the launched switch is the core of the network of the Russian cellular operator, which is covered by 1.5 thousand base stations. By the morning of August 5, 2014, the network was operating throughout Simferopol and covered the entire peninsula within 48 hours.

In the spring and early summer of 2014, intensive construction of a new communication infrastructure took place in Crimea, and since June 2014, the mass sale of Russian SIM cards in the + 7 numbering began on the peninsula. By August 2014, about 800 thousand such SIM cards had already been sold, and their total stock is about 1.2^[1].

According to Nikolai Nikiforov, networks and other operators are expected to be launched in Crimea in the near future. In August 2014, third and fourth generation communication networks will be launched.

The new Crimean operator works in DEF code 978.

Russian SIM cards connect to the new network automatically. To connect to the network manually while roaming, you need to select the network code "250-32," "Win Mobile" or "Rus 32" in the phone settings.

The K-Telecom network was launched at a videoconference in Crimea. On the left is the acting head of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, on the right is the acting Governor of Sevastopol Sergei Menyailo, in the center is the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolai Nikiforov

The K-Telecom operator received from the State Commission on Radio Frequencies of Russia the frequencies previously used by the Ukrainian subsidiary of MTS - MTS Ukraine.

After the transition of Crimea from June 1, 2014 to settlements in rubles, MTS Ukraine, being a Ukrainian company, was unable to continue settlements in hryvnia.

Another Ukrainian mobile operator, Kyivstar, which is part of the Vimpelcom group with Bilain, also warned its subscribers about communication problems in Crimea. After the transition of the peninsula to rubles, the operator experienced difficulties with paying hryvnia seats for base stations and power supply for them.

See also

• Vivacell-MTS (Vivacell - MTS)

Notes