Yota (Scartel)

Skartel LLC (operator Yota) is a subsidiary of PJSC Megaphone"" and operates according to the model of a virtual telecom operator () MVNO on the networks of the parent Megafon.

Performance indicators

2023: Revenue growth by 11% to RUB 43.75 billion

The revenue of Skartel LLC, which provides mobile services under the Yota brand, in 2023 amounted to 43.75 billion rubles, which is 11% more than a year earlier (39.53 billion rubles). The company's net profit amounted to 5.14 billion rubles, while in 2022 the net loss of the virtual operator (MVNO) was measured at 19.02 billion rubles. This is evidenced by the data of the Kontur. Focus service, which TAdviser got acquainted with at the end of April 2024.

Yota increased annual revenue by 11%

The cost of sales of Yota LLC in 2023 amounted to 30.51 billion rubles against minus 28.06 billion rubles a year earlier. Gross profit increased from 11.47 billion to 13.24 billion rubles, profit from sales - from 5.13 billion to 6.73 billion rubles. Profit before tax at the end of 2023 turned out to be equal to 6.52 billion rubles, while in 2022 such a loss exceeded 18 billion rubles.

From the reporting of Yota LLC it also follows that the company's commercial expenses in 2023 amounted to 3.97 billion rubles, management costs - 2.54 billion rubles. Accounts payable of Yota LLC by the end of December 2023 amounted to 5.34 billion rubles (in 2022 - 7.92 billion rubles), receivables - 1.57 billion rubles (in 2022 - 2.23 billion rubles).

Judging by the revenue indicators for 2023, Yota, following the results of this 12-month period, remained the leader of the Russian market for virtual mobile operators.

Leading analyst at Mobile Research Group Eldar Murtazin, commenting on the market situation in 2023, noted that in 2023 it experienced "compression."

The consumer has become rational: if he sees no point, he stops paying and holding additional SIM cards, he does not need them, the expert noted.

According to him, the MVNO market is also declining because subscribers began to focus on roaming tariffs. For obvious reasons, the number of foreign trips has decreased, and those who had such a model have suffered greatly, the analyst explained.

2021: 1.6-fold increase in roaming revenue

Covid restrictions have become a test for mobile operators who have not received income from roaming in 2020. In Yota in 2020, roaming revenue has halved compared to 2019. The company announced this on January 28, 2022.

In 2021, Yota practically managed to achieve dock-like indicators - in comparison with 2019, the mobile operator missed only 18% of revenue. At the same time, compared to 2020, the company noted an increase in roaming revenue by 60%. In the third quarter of 2021, the figure doubled altogether. The difference in revenue for the third quarter of 2021 and 2019 was only 3% in favor of 2019.

In 2021, 12.8% of Yota users were able to travel to another country. In the top of popular countries with customers of the mobile operator - Turkey, 14.1% of all travelers visited this country. Abkhazia is in second place with indicators of 7%. The third place is occupied by China - 6.9% of all travelers went to this country.

Top countries in popularity in 2021 among Yota customers:

In addition, Yota has counted customer traffic in roaming over the past year. Thus, among social networks in the first place was the Instagram service with a share of 56%, in second place with a significant margin - VK with 25%. The third place is for Facebook, it has 9% of traffic.

Among messengers the first line is stable WhatsApp with a share of 56%. The second place for, Telegram the share of its traffic among Yota customers in roaming is 39%. On the third with 4 Viber %.

The most popular video service Youtube was (89%), the second place was taken (online movie theater Ivi 6%), the third - (2 Netflix %).

For video communication in roaming, Yota customers most actively used Facetime, its traffic share is 40%, as well as Skype (35%) and Zoom Meetings (23%). The least popular video calling app was Microsoft Teams with a 2% share.

2018: Revenue growth to RUB 29.8 billion, profit drop to RUB 5.5 billion

In 2018, the revenue of the virtual mobile operator Yota reached 29.8 billion rubles against 28.4 billion rubles a year earlier. Such data of the company are contained in the RAS reporting, which was published in the SPARK-Interfax system.

Yota's net profit in 2018 amounted to 5.5 billion rubles, having decreased from 6.8 billion rubles in profit in 2017. Profit from sales decreased by 1.5 billion rubles, to 7.2 billion rubles, the Kommersant newspaper reports.

The fall in Yota's profit in the company was explained by the adjustment of the product line, for example, with the launch of packages without voice communication in March 2018.

Yota Operations Director Said Munaev called the company's investments in the development of the retail network another reason for the decrease in net profit compared to 2017. According to him, in 2018 the number of own points of sale increased from 100 to 200, the number of franchise points - from 300 to 400. The growth in the company's revenue is due to an increase in the client base, said Said Munaev.

In addition, in 2018, we noted a significant increase in traffic consumption by customers, while service prices remained almost unchanged. So, for example, the growth in mobile Internet consumption amounted to 33% compared to 2017, - said Munaev, quoted by Kommersant.

Yota has not reported the number of subscribers since the third quarter of 2015, when the base was measured by 1.5 million users. According to TMT Consulting, in 2018 the number of subscribers of virtual mobile operators in Russia was 7 million, of which 67% fell on Yota (works on the infrastructure of MegaFon).^[1]

The base of operators working on networks Tele2 was measured by 2 million people, of which 1.3 million subscribers accounted for the project. Rostelecom The virtual operator MGTS using the networks MTS had 563,000 subscribers.

History

2023: Signing a memorandum on countering voice spam

Yota signed a memorandum of opposition. to voice to spam The operator is actively working to protect subscribers from unwanted calls. In July 2023 alone, spam filters weeded out almost 5.4 million unwanted calls and over 4.7 million. SMS The company announced this on August 8, 2023.

FAS and mobile operators have joined forces to combat intrusive advertising that comes to subscribers without their consent. The memorandum was signed in 2021. In June 2022, the FAS, together with operators, launched a service for citizens to quickly block spam calls. Through a special form on the operators' website and on the agency's portal, you can report the received voice or SMS advertising.

We pay great attention to protecting our customers from unwanted calls and SMS. Special filters use analytical algorithms to track spam calls and automatically block them or transfer them to a voice box. In July 2023 alone, Yota spam filters eliminated almost 5.4 million unwanted calls and over 4.7 million SMS, "said Pyotr Chernyavsky, head of product and operational efficiency at Yota.

Spam protection is available to all Yota subscribers for free, unwanted calls and SMS are automatically limited. The system takes into account the characteristics characteristic of spam calls and messages. Detection criteria are regularly updated using big data and algorithmic machine learning.

Subscribers can also notify the operator of spam. It is enough to send an SMS message to the free number 1911, and report unwanted calls through the form on the Yota website or the antimonopoly agency portal.

2022

MegaFon acquired the Yota trademark

On August 21, 2023, MegaFon announced the purchase of the Yota trademark. The relevant information is contained in the financial statements of the Big Four mobile operator.

Capex in the first half of the year increased by 99.4% to 71 billion rubles. The main impact on the growth of this indicator was the acquisition of the Yota trademark in December 2022 for 27 billion rubles, the document says.

The representative of MegaFon explained to RBC that the seller was the USM group, and the valuation was carried out by an independent company. He also clarified that the transaction was carried out as part of the restructuring of the operator's assets, in which the company buys assets related to the telecom direction, abandoning non-core ones.

At the end of 2022, MegaFon began acquiring telecommunications-related companies from USM. So, in December, oneFactor (engaged in the development of analytical platforms based on artificial intelligence), 100% of the software developer and provider of business support systems Nexine (Nexign brand), and in January - Inplat (engaged in processing payments on the Internet, works with VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and other services). According to Kommersant, asset restructuring may occur on the eve of the sale.

RBC recalls that MegaFon bought 100% of Yota (operated under the Yota brand) from Garsdale holding for $1.18 billion, of which $590 million plus 6% per annum were to be paid a year from the date of closing the transaction, and the remaining amount plus 6% interest per annum - in 2 years. In addition, MegaFon took over the debts of Yota, estimated at about $600 million. How the Yota brand ended up in the USM asset portfolio and how much MegaFon has paid for its use so far is not commented on in the company by August 2023.

MegaFon summed up the financial results of the first half of 2023

Appointment of Dmitry Zabuga as head of Yota

At the end of October 2022, it became known about the appointment of Dmitry Zabuga as the new general director of Yota. This is evidenced by the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRUL), to which Interfax refers. Read more here.

Integration of MegaFon and Yota retail chains

MegaFon and Yota on October 4, 2022 informed TAdviser about the merger of their retail chains. Operators expect to complete the project to unite retail chains by the end of 2023. It is expected that according to the results of the project, the costs of network development will decrease by a third, while traffic in salons will increase by 15%.

In the updated salons, subscribers of both MegaFon and Yota will be able to get advice and use the following services: connect a SIM card, including switch to an operator with number preservation, connect digital products, as well as purchase smartphones, tablets, routers, smart home devices, travel and healthy lifestyle products, gadgets for children.

As the operating director of MegaFon Oleg Telyukov noted, MegaFon is developing its retail network using analytics big data. In his opinion, combining with the Yota network will provide subscribers of two operators with the widest possible opportunities in the field of client service.

"In working with subsidiaries, we are always looking for synergy. Now Yota subscribers will be able to connect services and get advice in any salon in all regions of MegaFon's presence. Despite the fact that MegaFon and Yota as operators communications have a fundamentally different audience in terms of consumption of mobile services, its needs for service and purchases electronic engineers are identical, "added Oleg Telyukov.

The project includes both the opening of new salons and the unification of existing ones. It is assumed that by the end of 2023 all its own salons and franchised workers will work in an updated format. As of the beginning of October 2022, the first three joint co-branding salons have already been launched in Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnogorsk and Yegoryevsk. All employees of retail outlets undergo special training, so they can advise customers on any issue of two operators.

2021: Appointment of Said Munaev as CEO of Yota

Said Munaev, who held the position of operating director of the company for two years, has been appointed CEO of mobile operator Yota since April 20, 2021. In this post, he replaced Oleg Telyukov, who moved to the position of director of sales and services of MegaFon. Read more here.

2019

As of June 2019, the company's main services are voice mobile communication and. Internet 4G

Yota burgers from the Krasnodar Guy burger chain

On August 22, 2019, the mobile operator Yota and the Krasnodar Guy burger chain launched a joint action and offer to try the Yota burger.

For two months from August 22 to October 22, 2019, Yota users will be able to get a 10% discount on the entire menu of the Krasnodar Guy burger by showing the screen of their smartphone with the name of the Yota operator, as well as try the Yota burger with a 30% discount. In turn, visitors to the burger in 14 cities of the Russian Federation will be able to receive the second month of Yota communication for free by presenting a check from a restaurant in the amount of 1000 rubles or more at the outlet.

As part of the Yota burger: marble beef patty, potato pai, iceberg salad, cucumber relish, cheddar cheese and secret blue sauce - all on a beautiful blue bun in Yota's signature colors.

List of cities where you can try the Yota burger:

• 1. St. Petersburg
• 2. Saratov
• 3. Krasnodar
• 4. Stavropol
• 5. Yaroslavl
• 6. New Urengoy
• 7. Yekaterinburg
• 8. Ulyanovsk
• 9. Ivanovo
• 10. Kirov
• 11. Gubkinsky
• 12. Gelendzhik
• 13. Nizhnevartovsk
• 14. Arkhangelsk

Reduce roaming costs

On August 13, 2019, the Russian wireless operator Yota announced a revision of the approach to the roaming product and a reduction in the cost of one megabyte of traffic by more than 12 times. Now in the most popular countries for 400 rubles you can buy 500 megabytes of traffic, and it will not be limited in time.

Changes in the cost and volume of traffic in roaming occurred for 57 tourist destinations, including Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus, etc. A complete list of countries is available on the website yota.ru.

Over the past three years, the profile of roaming service consumption has changed, and the volume of traffic we offered is no longer enough for customers. Therefore, we more than 10 times increased the number of megabytes in the packet and left the key advantage unchanged - the traffic packet is not limited in time. Even if the client did not have time to spend all megabytes on the trip, they will not burn out, and they can be used on other trips within a year, - explained Natalya Smagina, manager of Smartphone the Yota direction.

Oleg Telyukov appointed CEO of Yota

On May 13, 2019, it became known that Oleg Telyukov, who had previously worked at Tele2 as the head of the North-West macro-region, was appointed the new general director of the mobile operator Yota.

In a press release, Yota reported that Telyukov's duties will include the development and implementation of the company's new long-term strategy.

Appointment of Konstantin Gorelik Chief information officer of Yota

On March 25, 2019, Yota informed TAdviser about the appointment of Chief information officer of company Konstantin Gorelik, who has 20 years of experience in the formation and development of IT structures in various companies. Read more here.

Vladimir Dobrynin left the post of CEO of Yota

In January 2019 Vladimir Dobrynin , he left the post of general director of the operator Yota (a subsidiary of PJSC MegaFon""). The chief financial officer of Yota will temporarily act as CEO. Said Munaev More. here

2017

Yota will pay compensation of 20 million rubles to victims of the failure

Cellular operator Yota will pay compensation to subscribers affected by the failure on May 19 in the amount of up to 20 million rubles.

"On

May 19, parts of the users of the mobile operator Yota were unavailable voice communication, as well as Internet access due to technical problems with the network. The accident affected residents of the Capital and Central regions, as well as the Volga region. "

As explained by the general director of Yota Vladimir Dobrynin, the consequences of the accident were completely eliminated. At the same time, the company decided to pay compensation to 20 million rubles. customers who were left on this day without the opportunity to make calls and use the mobile Internet.

"As compensation, mobile operator Yota will provide users with a discount for the next settlement period. To receive it, customers of a mobile operator just need to contact the support service, "Yota noted

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Revenue growth 2.5 times in three years to 28.5 billion rubles

For three years, the revenue of the mobile operator Yota has grown more than 2.5 times. At the end of 2017, it amounted to 28.5 billion rubles, compared with 10.4 billion in 2014.

According to the company's RAS statements, in 2017 Yota increased its profit by 8.3 billion rubles, compared to 2016, and reached a net profit of 6.9 billion rubles. In 2017, the revenue of the mobile operator increased by more than 25% - from 21 billion to 28.5 billion rubles.

2016

Revenue of 21 billion rubles

The revenue of Yota LLC in 2016 increased by 54% compared to 2015, from 13.6 billion to 21 billion rubles, follows from its reporting under RAS, published in the SPARK-Interfax database. The operator's net loss decreased to 1.3 billion rubles. against the loss of 2.4 billion rubles received in 2015. The cost of sales and operator services increased to 18.5 billion rubles. from 13.5 billion rubles. Gross profit of the company also increased to 2.4 billion rubles. from 39.6 million rubles. in 2015. Profit from sales of Yota decreased in 2016 to 1.5 billion rubles. from 2.6 billion rubles. in 2015.

The company explains the financial situation by the continuation of the scaling of the business, which peaked in 2015-2016.

"In 2016, we actively expanded our geography, and entering the territory required additional investments," explained Olga Alekseeva, a representative of Yota. According to her, the results were also influenced by active purchases of user equipment, the prices for which are formed in accordance with the exchange rate. "The reduction in profit from sales is due to the development of the company, the growth of the dealer network, the cost of developing advertising products, renting premises under retail outlets," added Olga Alekseeva.

"Yota" does not disclose the subscriber base at the end of 2016^[2].

Sberbank's unsuccessful attempt to buy Yota

On September 7, 2016, it became known about Sberbank's plans to organize its own virtual mobile operator. This decision was made after allegedly unsuccessful negotiations with MegaFon on the purchase of the Yota operator.

The organization tried to negotiate with Tele2 and MTS. Anatoly Smorgonsky, ex-director of Yota confirmed the information about the events. Experts estimated "Yota" at 45 billion rubles^[3]

Telecom and data operators are already operating in the sector of some banking services, to a certain extent creating competition for banks. Of course, Sberbank could develop a number of mobile banking services based on Yota assets, for example, providing communication services on credit, SMS notification about the crediting of funds to cards, transferring money from a mobile phone account to a bank card. But there are doubts that the bank will be able to effectively manage non-core assets for itself. Natalya Milchakova, Deputy Director of the Analytical Department of Alpari

The basic strategy of the project economy for Sberbank was calculated by Anatoly Smorgonsky, citing an informed source, the publication reported plusworld.ru. The essence of the offer: the bank has customers who use the cashback service (refund when paying for a purchase using a card). At the expense of cashback funds, the user can use free mobile communications with a certain package for a month, for example 500 MB of Internet traffic, 100 minutes of conversation and 50 SMS. If the package is used up within a month, then the payment for services will become fixed: a certain fee will be charged for each minute. At the same time, the emergence of a free mobile operator will have to stimulate Sberbank customers to switch to the use of cards and Internet banking applications.

2015: 2.4 billion rubles of net loss and 1.5 million subscribers

At the end of 2015, Yota's revenue increased by 30.7% compared to 2014, to 13.6 billion rubles, follows from the data of the SPARK-Interfax database. The cost of sales and services of Yota increased by 64.7%, to 13.6 billion rubles. The company's gross profit fell to 39.65 million rubles from 2.2 billion rubles in 2014.

In 2015, Yota received 2.4 billion rubles of net loss against 3.8 billion rubles of net profit a year earlier. In 2012 and 2013, the company also received a loss - 5.9 billion rubles and 2.1 billion rubles, respectively.

"We see the current financial situation as a natural process of scaling up the business. In 2015, we actively expanded the geography of our presence. Over the year, Yota began distributing SIM cards for smartphones and tablets in 45 regions of Russia and began to provide unlimited 4G Internet services in 32 more regions. That is why our expenses have increased. Entering new territories required additional investments: the cost of legalizing the network and SORM, the cost of number capacity, and so on. We also actively purchased user equipment - sim-cards, modems, routers, the price of which depends on the exchange rate, "Olga Alekseeva, PR director of Yota, told Interfax.

It explains the revenue growth by an increase in the subscriber base of the mobile operator - according to the results of the third quarter of 2015, it amounted to 1.5 million. According to the results of 2015, the company did not disclose the number of customers. Earlier, TMT Consulting estimated the number of Yota modem subscribers at 1 million.

On August 13, 2015, Yota announced the results of work for the year since the launch of voice mobile services into commercial operation.

The customer base of the company using SIM cards for smartphones and tablets by this time exceeded one million.

"A million customers using SIM cards for smartphones and tablets make Yota one of the leaders in the MVNO market in Russia. It was possible to achieve such a high value due to a number of factors: the uniqueness of the product, wide geographical expansion, diverse and well-oiled distribution channels. Customers can receive Yota SIM cards both in the mobile operator's own retail and in the stores of Svyaznoy, Euroset, other partners, order delivery by courier in the mobile application or on the website yota.ru. Over the year, the distribution of SIM cards for smartphones has expanded from 6 to 52 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The tablet product is also sold in 52 regions. By the end of 2015, we plan to start distributing SIM for smartphones and tablets in 23 more regions, "said Mikhail Dubin, CEO of Yota.

As of August 13, 2015, 28% of Yota customers pay for mobile services with bank cards through the application, and the figure continues to grow. By this value, Yota users are ahead of customers of other mobile operators.

2014

4.4% of Megafon's revenue

In 2014, Yota transferred the entire LTE infrastructure to the parent company, but the Yota brand was retained. Megaphone"" does not disclose the indicators of "Scartel" - they are consolidated into the operator's statements as per. IFRS Megafon's total revenue in the Russian Federation in 2015 decreased by 0.8%, to 308.4 billion. rubles Thus, from the reporting of Yota under RAS, we can conclude that it accounts for about 4.4% of Megafon's revenue (about 3% in 2014).

Remove restrictions from VPN

On September 24, 2014, Yota announced the removal of restrictions from VPN mode on smartphones.

Previously, the connection speed when using VPN was reduced to 32 kbps. Now, when working in a virtual private network, with the participation of Yota, all restrictions on the smartphone are removed.

"About two thousand Yota users voted on our website for the ability to establish a VPN connection on a smartphone, this is the first user idea that we implemented. We will continue to select and implement the ideas that we will receive from our clients and build an operator together, "said Anatoly Smorgonsky, CEO of Yota Group

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Yota has become a voice cellular operator

Yota (Yota brand) announced in April 2014 the start of voice services. Services will be provided according to the model of a virtual cellular operator based on the network of the owner of Yota Megafon in all standards: GSM, 3G and LTE. Previously, Yota operates in a "limited commercial operation" mode. Only a limited range of test subscribers can use the operator's services, who, however, pay for services at commercial rates^[4].

Sales of Yota offers will begin in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and in the future - throughout the country. In Moscow, the base tariff will cost users 750 rubles per month. It includes 300 minutes of voice traffic, unlimited SMS and unlimited Internet traffic. In St. Petersburg, the subscription fee will be i590 per month.

From the 301st minute, outgoing calls will cost 2.5 rubles per minute. In the future, it will be possible to purchase additional packages of minutes up to unlimited. Calls between Yota users will be free.

As for the Internet, unlike most of the "unlimited" tariffs available on the market of other operators, Yota will not reduce the data transfer rate when traffic thresholds are reached.

True, only smartphone owners will use full unlimited. If you install a SIM card in your modem, the speed will still decrease.

Yota subscribers will be able to use intranet roaming throughout the country. At the same time, during a stay in another region, calls to the home region will be charged at the base rate. International roaming will also be available to subscribers.

Users will be provided with numbers in the "999" code. SIM cards from Yota will support NFC wireless identification technology. The SIM card included in the kit will be universal: the subscriber will be able to turn it into a micro-SIM or nano-SIM on his own.

SIM-cards from Yota will not be sold in communication salons: they can be ordered with delivery by courier through the site or through the application for iOS and Android. In addition, Yota will not have a regular subscriber service: users will be served through chat in the application or on the operator's website.

The general director of "Yota" Anatoly Smorgonsky believes that in five years the company will gain 10 million subscribers. Now Yota serves 1 million customers who use only LTE data services through modems and routers.

All subscribers who will be recruited by Yota will be counted in the Megafon database. Earlier, Megafon already had experience in the field of virtual operators: in Moscow, the Simply project was promoted as an independent product, which was positioned as an operator of low-income low-tax subscribers. This project was subsequently closed.

2013

Megafon buys Scartel/Yota from Garsdale for $1.85 billion (including $566 million in debt)

Megafon bought Yota in October 2013 from its shareholder Garsdale (controlled by Alisher Usmanov and his partners) for $1.85 billion (including $566 million in debt). At the time of purchase, Yota owned LTE networks in two dozen regions of the Russian Federation, as well as licenses for LTE frequencies in the 2.5-2.7 GHz range (paired bands of 30 MHz each) throughout the country.

Board of Directors "Megafon" recommended shareholders to approve the purchase of "Yota"

In August 2013, MegaFon Open Joint Stock Company announced that MegaFon's Board of Directors recommended that the company's shareholders approve the purchase of 100% of Scartel/Jota from Garsdale, the controlling shareholder of MegaFon, at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for September 12, 2013.

MegaFon's Board of Directors has determined that the recommended acquisition provides a number of expected strategic benefits:

• A significant increase in the quality and bandwidth of the network, which will strengthen MegaFon's leading position in the rapidly growing mobile data market by improving the entire range of services and customer service;
• The ability to deploy a 4G/LTE network while reducing capital and operating costs per Mb/s, due to the increase in the frequency spectrum of MegaFon;
• Significant cash savings when deploying and operating the network, mainly by reducing significant current and future operating costs.

The total purchase price of Scartel/Iota is $1,180 million. ("Share Payment"), excluding Scartel/Iota's Net Debt amount at closing.

• Payment for shares in the amount of $1,180 million will be made with deferred payment as follows: 50% of the amount ($590 million) plus 6% interest per annum from the closing date to the payment date will be paid one year after the closing date, and the remaining amount of the share payment ($590 million) plus 6% interest per annum from the closing date to the payment date will be paid 2 years after the closing date;
• The maximum amount of Net Debt of Scartel/Iota under the transaction is fixed at $600 million plus $20 million per month, starting from July 1, 2013 until the closing of the transaction. Net debt consists of: loans provided by Scartel/Jota by the selling shareholder and affiliates (approximately $400 million as of June 30, 2013 - MegaFon will acquire this debt at par), as well as loans and loans to third parties, but does not include current capital liabilities;
• Closing conditions include standard closing conditions for such transactions, as well as the availability of fully valid 4G/LTE licenses. In addition, in the event that any claim by MegaFon (including any litigation claim questioning the validity of any 4G/LTE license owned by Scartel/Iota) arises prior to one of the payments under the Share Payment, the amount of such claim may be withheld from the respective payment until the claim is satisfactorily resolved.

FAS approved the takeover of Yota by Megafon

In July 2013, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) approved Megafon's petition to acquire a 100% stake in Yota. Megafon clarified that they are really considering such a deal, but so far it is too early to talk about its parameters.

According to the concluded agreement, Megafon will have to pay 55 billion rubles to Yota within five years. for the use of its infrastructure. Cooperation with Yota allowed Megafon to get ahead of its competitors - MTS and VimpelCom - in the timing of the launch of LTE: on the frequencies of Yota, Megafon has already built networks in several dozen regions.

"Skartel has a small subscriber base - about 800 thousand subscribers, besides, in the regions there is a very weak demand for LTE services," says Yuri Bryukvin, general director of the Rustelecom analytical agency. - In addition, the main driver for the consumption of data services is no longer modems, but smartphones, but there are not so many such devices with LTE support yet. By the time this problem is resolved, Megafon's competitors will be able to catch up with it in terms of the pace of network construction. "

The fair value of "Yota," taking into account the debt, Bryukvin estimates at $700 million. But since the deal will be carried out between friendly structures, its price may be several times higher, adds an analyst^[5].

648 thousand subscribers

Scartel/Iota is the only operator in Russia with a functioning 4G/LTE network in many cities of the country. It owns a 2x30 MHz band of the national 4G/LTE frequency spectrum in the 2.5-2.6 GHz band and a network providing coverage for about 27% of the Russian population. Scartel/Iota serves about 648,000 4G/LTE customers of the mass and corporate markets as of June 30, 2013.

2012: Usmanov agreed to combine the assets of Megafon and Yota in the Garsdale holding

In 2012, the controlling shareholder of Megafon, Alisher Usmanov, agreed with the owners of Yota to combine assets. The Garsdale Services holding, formed as a result of the transaction, received more than 50% of Megafon's shares and 100% of Yota. 18% of the holding's shares went to Yota shareholders, the rest to Usmanov and his partners.

In 2012, approving this transaction, the FAS set a condition: Yota should provide non-discriminatory access to its infrastructure and other cellular operators.

Fulfilling the prescription, "Yota" divided its business into two parts. Actually, Yota is now engaged only in the infrastructure business under the Yota Networks brand, and all subscribers were transferred to the Iota company. Yota offered an open offer to all cellular operators to use its network, but apart from Megafon and Iota, no one cooperates with it. The previously concluded agreement with Rostelecom never entered into force, Rostelecom complained about Yota to the court and the FAS, but to no avail.

2011

Agreement with Rostelecom on the sharing of 4G networks

On December 2, 2011, it became known that Rostelecom and Yota signed an agreement on the joint development and use of fourth-generation (4G) wireless communication networks. The agreement was signed by Rostelecom President Alexander Provotorov and Yota Director Denis Sverdlov^[6].

Under the signed agreement, Yota grants Rostelecom the right to use wireless channels of its network and provide customers with communication services using the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) mechanism, as well as use the sites available to Yota to accommodate telecommunications equipment and wired communication channels to these sites.

Rostelecom, in turn, grants Yota the right to use wired communication channels to telecommunication equipment sites, Internet connection channels, main communication channels between cities, Rostelecom sites for telecommunications equipment and its data centers.

According to Rostelecom President Alexander Provotorov, "the joint development and use of infrastructure will allow companies to significantly reduce the construction time of 4G networks, while reducing capital costs, as well as significantly reduce operating costs. All this will make it possible not only to start providing 4G network services as soon as possible, but also to increase the number of Russian residents who can use them. "

In the presence of V. Putin, MTS, Megafon, VimpelCom and Rostelecom agreed to use the Yota network and buy out 20% of the company in 2014

In 2011, the operator received permission to use the frequencies it has for another technology - LTE - belonging to the fourth generation of cellular communications (4G). After that, Yota agreed with Megafon and Rostelecom on the joint construction of LTE networks.

On March 3, 2011, MTS, Megafon, VimpelCom and Rostelecom signed an agreement with Yota under which they will use its network together, and in 2014 they will be able to buy 20% of the operator's shares.

The agreement on the joint use of the Scartel network (Yota brand) for the development of LTE technology was signed by:

• general director of Yota Denis Sverdlov,
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yota Holding Sergey Adonyev,
• the head of the state corporation "Russian Technologies" Sergey Chemezov,
• general director of VimpelCom (Russian subsidiary of Vimpelcom) Elena Shmatova,
• President of MTSMikhail Shamolin,
• Megafon CEO Sergei Soldatenkov and
• the head of Rostelecom, Alexander Provotorov. The agreement was signed in the Moscow office of Yota.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev, as well as shareholders of the above-mentioned mobile operators:

• Chairman of the Board of Directors of AFK Sistema (controlling shareholder of MTS) Vladimir Yevtushenkov,
• President of Alfa Bank (part of Alfa Group, which owns 44% of Vimpelcom's voting shares through Altimo holding) Peter Aven and
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Telecominvest (Alisher Usmanov's structure, which owns 39.3% of Megafon's shares) Ivan Streshinsky.

The essence of the agreement is that the "big three" of cellular operators and "Rostelecom" are able to use the infrastructure of the LTE network "Yota" through the wholesale purchase of traffic. It was expected that the Yota network would be built in 180 cities on its own, its cost was previously estimated at $2 billion, now the amount of costs will become more. Sverdlov promises that the company will not use the financial resources and bank guarantees of the Big Three and Rostelecom, and will carry out construction with borrowed funds.

In 2014, all four partners of Yota will have the opportunity to exercise options for the acquisition of its shares in equal shares. If all four companies express such a desire, then Yota will have five shareholders, including Rostekhnologii. Sverdlov explained to CNews that the options will be concluded with the Telconet Capital fund, which now owns 74.9% of Yota Holding. It is planned that Telconet, like Rostechnolia, will become a shareholder of Yota directly, and it is the shares of the Russian company that will be the subject of option agreements.

Until now, only one Telconet shareholder was known - this is Sergey Adonyev. The value of the exercise of the options concluded with him will be determined based on the market valuation of the company at the time of acquisition of shares. The amounts that operators will pay for the use of Yota resources were not disclosed.

Until now, the "big three" cellular operators wanted to independently get LTE frequencies and build 4G networks on them. At the end of 2010, three operators entered a specially formed consortium led by Rostelecom to develop rules for the distribution of LTE frequencies. Moreover, a year ago, Rostelecom won frequencies in the range of 2.3-2.4 GHz suitable for LTE in 39 regions. But difficulties arose with these frequencies, recalls Shchegolev (earlier it was reported that it had not yet been possible to obtain the permissions necessary for their use from the military).

Cooperation with Yota will allow Rostelecom and mobile operators to more effectively use the frequency spectrum and save significant funds on the creation of infrastructure, since instead of 3-4 networks, only one will be built, top managers of operators and their shareholders explained to Putin. In addition, all frequencies simply would not have been enough, Yevtushenkov added. Shchegolev also assured Putin that the signed agreement would not raise questions from the antimonopoly department, as operators would continue to compete with each other. "Moreover, now they will be able to free up their resources from the construction of networks and focus on the provision of services," the Minister of Communications added.

LTE deployment requires a large frequency band, and the further, the greater the needs will be, a top manager of one of the cellular operators told CNews on condition of anonymity. "The frequencies available at Yota will not be enough for the construction of five networks," the source of CNews is sure. - The Big Three are doing everything to prevent the emergence of a federal competitor, which could be Yota, and Rostelecom's strategy simply consists in accumulating the maximum possible frequency resource. In the future, there will be a continuation of the struggle for 4G, in particular, for free frequencies in the range of 2.5 - 2.7GHz and for the ability to use previously issued frequencies for LTE. "

"Yota" owns frequency bands with a width of 30-40 MHz (depending on the region) in the range of 2.5-2.7 GHz, which as of March 2011 is used for WiMAX technology. In 2010, the operator tried to switch to LTE technology, but not only did not receive permission from the regulator, but also lost an additional frequency band throughout Russia with a width of 20-30 MHz. Yota does not refuse to independently provide LTE network services: in December 2010, the company was already divided into a service one, which will be responsible for subscriber service, and a network one (Yota Networks), which is responsible for the construction of a common network infrastructure for all operators. Yota intends to close the existing WiMAX networks after deploying LTE.

The essence of the agreement concluded in March 2011 is that the "big three" of cellular operators and Rostelecom are able to use the infrastructure of the LTE network "Yota" through the wholesale purchase of traffic. The Yota network will build in 180 cities on its own, its cost was previously estimated at $2 billion, now the amount of costs will become more. Sverdlov promises that the company will not use the financial resources and bank guarantees of the Big Three and Rostelecom, and will carry out construction with borrowed funds.

Thus, up to 5 operators will have to be accommodated on one Yota network. Sverdlov is sure that the company has enough frequencies for this. If Yota can get new frequencies, then on a common basis and through competitions, Igor Shchegolev told CNews. Regarding the frequencies selected in 2010, Shchegolev noted that they are the subject of litigation and this issue is not related to the signed agreement.

2010

Roskomnadzor is trying to deprive the company of all frequencies

On August 2, Yota announced at a press conference that it had received a copy of the order of the deputy head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) Alexander Katulevsky to invalidate all permits for the use of radio frequencies issued to the company this year. From January to May 2010, Yota received 50 permits from Roskomnadzor, allowing the company to expand its frequency band of 30-40 MHz by 20-30 MHz, depending on the city. A meeting on this topic on Friday, July 30, took place between Katulevsky and the general director of Yota Denis Sverdlov.

According to the report of Roskomnadzor (it was published on the agency's website after the press conference "Yota"), during the audit of the regulations adopted in January - May, violations were discovered when assigning radio frequency permits to this company. Further analysis carried out by a commission specially created by the department revealed violations by officials of Roskomnadzor and FSUE Main Radio Frequency Center (carries out the examinations necessary to obtain frequencies). A service check has begun against them. As specified in the department, the frequencies were assigned in violation of the decision of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (GKRCH) of August 19, 2009, allowing to issue frequencies and conduct examinations of electromagnetic compatibility in the range of 2.5-2.7 GHz (used by Yota) only within the framework of previously assigned radio frequencies.

Denis Sverdlov learned about the publication of a message from Roskomnadzor from a CNews correspondent. He claims that neither in the order of the department received by the company, nor during the meeting with Katulevsky, the grounds for the recall of radio frequencies were reported. Regarding the voiced reason, Sverdlov said that the decision of the GKRCH did not limit the issuance of frequencies in the territories:

"If a company used certain specific radio frequency denominations in regions, it could get similar denominations in other regions, which we did."

Sverdlov expresses particular surprise at the fact that the orders for the allocation of the company's frequencies, which have now been canceled, were signed by Katulevsky and personally by the head of Roskomnadzor, Sergei Sitnikov. In this regard, "Yota" intends to go to court with a lawsuit against the supervisory authority. In addition, the company appeals to President Dmitry Medvedev personally. The president has already helped Yota, Sverdlov recalls, for example, at the end of 2009 Medvedev admitted that he personally uses the services of Yota, after which the company was able to resolve its problems with the FSO, and in May 2010 promoted the company's project during a visit to Turkey.

Regardless of the future fate of the recalled radio frequencies, Yota assured that this would not affect users of the Moscow and St. Petersburg Yota WiMAX networks. In the capital, the company has 40 MHz from 60MHz, of which 20 MHz can be used to launch the LTE network (10 MHz pair - 2.500 - 2.510 MHz, 2.620 - 2.630 MHz). But the frequencies that the company loses are used in a number of regional networks - Sochi, Krasnodar, Ufa - where the operator now serves 100 thousand subscribers. "Yota" will have to transfer subscribers to other frequencies and incur the corresponding costs.

According to Sverdlov, the failures of his company may be beneficial to someone, and cites as an example the recently created structure of Rusenergotelecom, 75% minus one share of which belongs to the ESN group of Grigory Berezkin, 25% plus one share - Rostelecom. Rusenergotelecom claims frequencies for LTE technology in the 2.5-2.7 GHz range, despite the fact that there are no free frequencies in Moscow in this range, the Yota CEO assures. Meanwhile, until recently, the relationship between Yota and state authorities was quite successful. It was believed that the company owed to this state corporation "Russian Technologies" and its head Sergei Chemezov.

But, as Stanislav Belkovsky, president of the Institute for Political Analysis, notes, Yota suffered due to the ambitions of a group of businessmen close to the current leadership of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications - the aforementioned Berezkin and managing partner of the Marshall Capital Partners fund, member of the board of directors of the Svyazinvest holding Konstantin Malofeev. "Skartel's conflict with the regulator began in connection with the intention of this team to build a federal 4G network and search for free frequencies for it," says Belkovsky. "And the fact that Medvedev personally advocated" Yota "is unlikely to be able to protect the company: as the practice of the Russian political system shows, the ultimate role is played not by the words of the first person, but by the one who can concentrate the greatest administrative resource around him."

The first Huawei base stations for the LTE network in Kazan have been installed

The first base stations of the LTE network were installed in Kazan in July 2010. In the vast majority of cases, Yota uses Tattelecom channels to connect them. Servers for the operation of applications are installed in the Kazan technopark "IT Park." The total cost of deploying the network amounted to $20 million, says the general director of Yota Sverdlov.

In August 2010, it was announced that the Yota LTE network built in Kazan should work within two weeks. In the presence of a CNews correspondent on a laptop with an LTE modem connected, the incoming stream speed reached 40 Mbps, which allowed you to watch HD video directly from the Web while traveling by car in the city center.

Denis Sverdlov said that tariffs in LTE networks will be slightly higher than existing tariffs in Yota WiMAX networks (900 rubles per month for unlimited access), but will still remain unlimited.

About 150 three-sector Huawei base stations have already been installed in Kazan, but not all of them are connected yet. With the same vendor, the operator signed a contract for the supply of another 1000 such devices, said CNews Sverdlov. Recall that for the deployment of WiMAX networks, the company purchased Samsung equipment. The Kazan network operates in the company's usual frequency range of 2.5-2.7 GHz.

Client devices - modems - are traditionally supplied for Yota by Samsung. In addition, the operator develops his own modem. According to Sverdlov, the Korean manufacturer of chipsets for these devices and the Chinese plant where they will be assembled have already been chosen. Their price at the initial stage will be in the region of 4 thousand rubles, but in the future (no earlier than in a year) it will be reduced to 2 thousand rubles, he says.

Most likely, it is their own devices that will be offered to participants in the test operation. To recruit them, the company will offer visitors to its site to fill out a questionnaire and get a modem for free.

Denis Sverdlov expects to switch to commercial operation of the Kazan LTE network until 2011, but the position of the regulator - Roskomnadzor is also important for the implementation of these plans. The fact is that the company has not yet been able to obtain permission from the department to operate some base stations. During the demonstration of the LTE network "Yota," the car of the Roskomnadzor radio frequency center carried out measuring work near one of the base stations. The "Yotas" hope that the relevant permits will still be obtained in the near future.

In 2010, the network of high-speed unlimited wireless 4G-Internet was deployed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ufa. The company provides Internet access at speeds up to 10 Mbps and switching between stations without disconnecting the connection.

Establishment of Yota Group for Foreign Assets Management

In 2010, in connection with the expansion of the number of markets for Yota's presence, the management company Yota Group was established with offices in St. Petersburg and London. It is entrusted with the functions of managing local companies of the group: Yota Russia, Yota Bel, Yota de Nicaragua, Yota Del Peru.

Yota Group is fully focused on business development strategy, marketing strategy and brand promotion, development of new services and products.

Opening of the office of the management company Yota Holding in London

A Yota sign appeared in one of the office centres in the London Borough of Farringdon in early February 2010. According to a source in the company, its employees have already announced a restructuring. London It will house a control structure called. Yota Holding It was headed by the Denis Sverdlov general director "." Yota It was reported that Yota Holding will manage all international projects of the company.

2009

Reaching the level of operational payback. Total Network Launch Costs $400 Million

In October 2009, the Yota reached the level of operational payback. Operating costs, including administrative costs, staff training, advertising costs, for the first time in October were fully covered by revenue. According to him, the company's revenue for October amounted to $6 million, and the EBITDA indicator is "slightly" above zero.

For 2010, it is also planned to reach operating profit - while the company is unprofitable, says Sverdlov.

At this time, the operator provides wireless Internet access services using Mobile WiMAX technology (IEEE 802.16-2005 standard). Works under the Yota brand.

Yota intends to invest $170 million in the development of WiMax wireless networks. Part of the money provided by Yota in the form of a loan by the Telconet fund was spent on the commercial launch of WiMax in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and part on the deployment of networks in Ufa, Sochi, Krasnodar and two other Russian cities.

It is expected that in the regions, the fourth generation networks promoted by Yota will have to compete with 3G networks, which have not yet been deployed in Moscow. By this time, Yota had already spent $300 million on development.

Later it was reported that Yota will spend $300-350 million in 2010. This was stated by its president Denis Sverdlov. According to him, the capex of this WiMax operator in 2009 will amount to $110 million. Over the entire period of the company's existence, $400 million was spent on its development.

200 thousand subscribers

In the first half of October, the operator's subscriber base exceeded 200,000 users, and 2,000 new customers are connected daily. Moreover, 80% of subscribers are connected to the unlimited tariff "Yota mini" - 900 rubles. per month.

100 thousand subscribers

As of August 18, 2009, the company's subscriber base exceeded the target of 100 thousand people. Moreover, we are talking about active subscribers who pay for traffic. Since June 1, 2009, when the commercial operation of the Yota network began in Moscow and St. Petersburg, about 60 thousand new subscribers have connected. The rest are "old" subscribers who have switched from the period of test operation of the network in these cities. At the end of June, the test operation of the Yota network began in Ufa, it will last until September 30, 2009. In just one month from the beginning of the official sale of connection devices in Ufa, 5 thousand subscribers were registered.

The average traffic per Yota subscriber was 10.3 GB in July. The same amount falls on average on the subscriber of wired Internet providers in Moscow. But at the same time, Yota subscribers began to use the mobile properties of the WiMAX Internet much more actively. If the share of mobile subscribers (those who used 6-10 sectors of base stations) and ultra-mobile (more than 10 sectors) in April-May was 25-30%, then in July - 46%. Accordingly, the share of stationary subscribers (those who used 1-2 sectors) decreased - from 30% in April-May to 13% in July.

Joining 7 regional operators

Until the summer of 2009, 100% of the operator belonged to the Cypriot offshore company WiMax Holding Limited, 74.9% of which was owned by Telconet Capital, and another 25.1% by the state corporation Rostekhnologii. But according to the entry in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities dated June 29, 2009, WiMax Holding's contribution to the authorized capital (MC) of Yota increased from 10,000 to 26,400 rubles, and the MC itself grew eightfold to 80,000 rubles. The remaining 53,600 rubles. invested a new member of LLC - Cyprus offshore Kristiva Holdings Limited. Thus, the share of WiMax Holding could decrease from 100% to 33%, and Kristiva Holdings received a controlling stake (the remaining 67%).

Natalya Tsarevskaya-Dyakina, a representative of Yota, explains the emergence of a new founder by the reorganization of the company, which took place in the first half of 2009. The Federal Antimonopoly Service notified the reorganization by joining seven Yota companies. All affiliated companies are regional operators that own licenses for communication services, says Tsarevskaya-Dyakina, they were established by Kristiva Holdings Ltd. And the ratio of shares in the LLC reflects the ratio of the company's assets before the reorganization and the joined companies, she adds.

But the founder of Kristiva Holdings itself, according to Tsarevskaya-Dyakina, is the same WiMax Holding, that is, the effective shares of the ultimate owners of Yota - Rostechnologies and Telconet - have not changed. This was confirmed by a source close to the state corporation.

List of persons included in one group:

• WiMax Holding
• Kristiva Holdings
• Yota
• GRANITE
• McMeeks
• BION
• Bit Service
• Eusten
• Sinamax
• FORTEX
• Individual

End of Free Network Usage Period

Use of the Yota network was free until May 31, 2009. On June 1, 2009, the company launched commercial operation of the mobile broadband Internet access (broadband access broadband) network using WiMax technology in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The cost of unlimited monthly access ranged from 900 to 1400 rubles. To connect to its network, Yota sells both modules for mobile devices and the world's first communicator with WiMax HTC Max 4G support, as well as a line of laptops. Later, the network was launched in Ufa.

2007: Founding of Yota

Yota was created in 2007, its shareholders were the Telconet Capital fund of entrepreneurs Sergei Adonyev and Albert Avdolyan, as well as the state corporation Rostekhnologii (now Rostec). The company built the first WiMAX wireless data network in Russia.

WiMAX Holding owns 100% of Yota (33% - directly, 67% - through Kristiva Holdings)

In turn, 74.9% of WiMax Holding itself belonged to the Telconet Capital fund, and another 25.1% - from the state corporation "Russian Technologies"

A source close to one of the Internet providers told Vedomosti that Sergei Adonyev is one of the owners of Yota. Adonyev is a former partner of Vladimir Kekhman, owner of Russia's largest fruit importer, JFC. Adonyev confirmed to Vedomosti that he owns a minority stake in Telconet Capital, which, in turn, controls 74.9% of Yota through Wimax Holding.

Adonyev also represents the interests of Telconet on the board of directors of Wimax Holding, a source in the state corporation Rostekhnologii, which owns the remaining 25.1% of Yota, told Vedomosti. This was confirmed by the general director of "Yota" Denis Sverdlov. According to him, there are five seats in the council in total: three seats, including the chairman, are occupied by Cypriot lawyers, one by Adonyev and another by Sergei Kulikov, head of the apparatus of the general director of Rostechnologies, Sergei Chemezov. Adonyev does not comment on or disclose his Telconet partners.

In an interview with Vedomosti in the spring of 2009, Chemezov just said that in 2006 Sverdlov and "two more people" came to him with the idea "from the field of fiction" about creating a WiMax operator. But "just in case" Chemezov began to support them - in particular, Rostekhnologii helped Yota with receiving frequencies, and at the end of 2008 they acquired a block package of the company.

Notes