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Cellular companies of the Far East are waiting for rebranding

Vladimir Osipenko

General director of the Far East macro region Tele2

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Cellular companies of the Far East are waiting for rebranding
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Vladimir Osipenko, General Director of the Tele2 Far East macroregion:

- We took part in a very important event in the telecommunications industry in Russia - the creation of a new federal cellular operator based on Tele2. The emergence of another major federal player will seriously change the picture of the market: it will lead to increased competition, and, as a consequence, to a general decrease in the cost of mobile services and an increase in their availability for the population. In new regions, Tele2 will continue to operate according to a unique discounter business model that has proven its effectiveness in all regions of the company's presence.

Having started working on the Russian market in 2003 with the launch of a GSM network in several regions, Tele2 has gone from a small regional operator to a federal player. Since autumn 2012, Tele2 has been providing communication services in the Far East - in the Sakhalin Region, Kamchatka Territory, Magadan Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region. One of the key events of 2013 was the acquisition of 100% of Tele2 shares by VTB Group. Thus, we officially received a Russian residence permit and discovered new opportunities for strategic development. It is important to note that these changes did not affect our market strategy, we continue to offer quality services at competitive prices and European level of service.

Today, the company ranks fourth in the country in terms of subscriber base. After closing the integration of Rostelecom mobile assets, the new federal mobile operator Tele2 began to provide communication services in more than 60 regions of Russia, received licenses 2G / 3G in all federal districts and 4G-license for the whole territory of Russia. The geography of Tele2 in the Far East of Russia has been replenished with five new regions - the Khabarovsk Territory, Primorye, the Amur Region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Transbaikalia.

At the moment Tele2 continues to transfer Rostelecom's assets to unified business processes and bring them in line with the overall organizational structure. In the framework of integration, a rebranding of all cellular companies is planned. In the Far East there are three operators Rostelecom: AKOS in the Primorsky Territory, Skylink in the Khabarovsk Territory, BIT in the Sakhalin Region, as well as cellular assets that were previously in the structure of Rostelecom. The new federal operator operates under the Tele2 brand. In the process of integration, cellular assets of Rostelecom will be gradually transferred to this brand.

Savings, budget management and careful attention to their spending - this is a modern trend. Tele2 is building a business that is unique to the telecommunications market, a model that has already proven its effectiveness: high-quality services at low prices. We have a competent cost management and ongoing work to reduce costs. Tele2 creates its infrastructure so that the network works as efficiently as possible. This is the best equipment and the most favorable conditions for its service. The company carefully approaches network planning, maintains strict cost management, and is focused on products demanded by subscribers.

Even in conditions of high competition, Tele2 demonstrates significant growth rates in the subscriber base and key business indicators. The link between the level of competition and the cost of mobile services in the context of regions is confirmed by studies of the industry analytical agency ComNews Research. Reports show that the overall price level for cellular services in Russia is falling. This is a direct merit of Tele2 - the emergence of an operator in any regional telecommunications market, and in each new region inevitably entailed a decline in the general price level of communications in the 25 range - 30%. This also happened in the Far East, especially noticeable in the JAR and Sakhalin , where the overall price level according to last year’s ComNews study fell by more than 30%. The secret is again in the business model and the general approach to the tariff policy.

Media News2

The emergence of mobile number portability (MNP) in Russia also increases competition in the mobile market, as it gives more freedom for subscribers.

Today, there are fewer factors that deter users from changing the operator. After all, it is possible to keep the old number that relatives, friends, and business partners remembered and added to their phone books, but at the same time choose an operator with more favorable tariffs. However, as we predicted, the introduction of MNP in Russia so far is more likely on a “calm” scenario, and only a few percent of all subscribers in the Russian mobile market have used the service. The share of those who made the transition, using the MNP, is still insignificant in order to speak about the significant influence of this factor on the subscriber loyalty to one or another operator and increased competition.

Another trend in the services market is to make offers easier and more understandable for the consumer. Agree that today an ordinary person, going to an online store or customer service center of the operator, feels himself a bit perplexed by the abundance of existing tariffs and offers. A large line of tariffs for the mass market, tariff proposals for business, mobile Internet, additional services, roaming. All this information falls on a person who lives an ordinary life. Many simply do not have the time or the desire to delve into the advantages and complex names of tariffs. It is difficult for a common person to put in the mind all the lines, asterisks and footnotes of the tariff proposal in order to understand the benefits and how much he eventually has to pay for communication. The subscriber, as a rule, wants to quickly and simply connect to the network, select a tariff corresponding to his needs. Tele2 is simple and convenient, subscribers have several clearly structured tariffs with clear charging rules, all parameters are spelled out in a simple form - without the use of small fonts, footnotes and hidden conditions.

Today, subscribers have become more attentive. It is important to offer mobile services at fair prices. I would like to emphasize once again the need not only to simplify tariff offers for users, but to increase transparency and control of the subscriber’s personal account. The idea of honesty is not only close to all people, but is also one of the key principles of the work of companies in the modern world.

We also realized that nobody remembers the same name for tariffs. But people distinguish tariffs by colors. We decided to do as people would like. So we have simple tariffs, for example, "Turquoise", "Blue", "Orange". The main thing is a price offer, and not a meaningless name on the package. We offer simple and understandable tariffs, which are easy to distinguish from one another and remember. We respect and value our subscribers and do our best to make the use of Tele2 services as comfortable and profitable as possible.