| Expanding
services
At present, the Russian cellular market is evolving rapidly. Traditionally,
wireless communications in the world’s largest country has been
characterized by hundreds of different operators, providing limited coverage
and services and concentrated mainly in Moscow and St Petersburg. All
this is changing, however, as the three most significant players—Mobile
TeleSystems (MTS), VimpelCom and Megafone—work to establish networks
covering the whole of Russia, with the exception of the country’s
‘far east’.
The VimpelCom group operates under the ‘Bee Line’ family of
brand names, and provides both the global system for mobile communications
(GSM) in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequencies, as well as the digital
advanced mobile phone system (D-AMPS). As the leading cellular operator
in the capital city of Moscow, VimpelCom is not only focusing on improving
its urban coverage, but is also seeking to establish itself in many regional
markets.
Close operator support
According to Mensing, the new equipment orders further enhance the active
role RFS is already playing in the Russian cellular market—a role
that has been made possible by the company’s strong local presence.
“Our representative office in Moscow, RFS Russia, is responsible
for this success,” he said. “Over the years, RFS has worked
closely with its customers in Russia to develop excellent relationships.
The engineers we work with have come to rely on the very high-quality
of both our products and our services. In particular, they appreciate
the competitive support made possible by cooperation with our sales partner
TechnoServ.”
In addition to the efforts of local staff, RFS further supports its customer
through the employment of an integrated sales partner. “The sales
partner is responsible for meeting the specialized needs of the customer
and to ensure that the process of getting the products is as hassle free
as possible,” said Mensing. “This includes shipping the goods
from their place of manufacture in Germany and France, to Moscow, as well
as local currency invoicing, DDP deliveries and long term payments. It
means that the customer can purchase his goods in a very convenient way;
it’s a one stop shop.”
Mensing believes that the current level of activity will continue for
some time in the future, with market penetration only 50 per cent in Moscow
and 12 per cent through the country as a whole. “While general packet
radio service (GPRS) has already been implemented in all the major carriers’
networks, true third generation (3G) technologies are not yet in focus,”
he said. “At present, the operators are concentrating on installing
cellular infrastructure in the regional centres and bigger cities. In
terms of servicing other areas and providing in-building coverage—there
is still much work to do.”
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