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About MTS

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS) is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS. MTS services over 91.33 million subscribers (as of December 31, 2008). MTS provides mobile communications in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, the territory with a total population of more than 230 million.

MTS has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since July 2000 and trades under the ticker MBT. The Company’s shares have been listed locally on Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) since November 2003 under the symbol MTSI. The free float of the Company’s shares is approximately 46.7%. MTS is 52.8% majority-owned by Sistema, the largest private sector consumer services company in Russia and the CIS.
 
In 2008, MTS’ revenues grew 24% to $10.2 billion. According to Informa Telecoms & Media's World Cellular Information Service, MTS ranks as the 8th largest operator in the world by proportionate subscriptions at the end of 2008.

MTS Brand

MTS launched its current brand in 2006, building on the reputation as the leader and highest quality operator in the region. The brand was developed to attract customers in a variety of cultural, socio-geographic and income segments with the consistent message of quality and leadership. To facilitate further growth and recognition of the brand, MTS recently adopted new Brand Standards to communicate the brand consistently in all messaging and launched a new slogan “Operator Svyazi” to reinforce its perception as a strong, trustworthy and quality-focused company.

The strength of the brand was recognized internationally in 2008, when MTS became the first and only Russian company to enter BRANDZ™ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands, a ranking published by the Financial Times and Millward Brown, a leading global market research and consulting firm.

In December 2008, MTS extended its brand outside the CIS borders. MTS and Shyam Telelink Limited, JSFC Sistema's telecommunications subsidiary in India, announced the agreement to allow Shyam Telelink to use MTS brand in India. The decision to introduce the brand to India is reflective of the brand’s success in the Company’s markets of operation since its launch in May 2006.