MTS INDIA launches UP East and UP West circles.

Sistema Shyam Tele Services Limited (SSTL) announced the expansion of its national footprint. The company has launched its mobile telephony services under the MTS brand in UP East and UP West Circles. This is all set to further add to the company’s customer base, which now stands at over 8 million voice and over 400,000 mobile broadband customers. The Russian Government recently picked up approximately 17% stake in SSTL for US$ 600mn.

Announcing the launch of MTS in UP East and UP West Circles, Sergey Savchenko, Chief Financial Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) said, “The launch of telephony services by MTS in UP East and UP West has further expanded our national footprint. MTS would now be able to address the telecom needs of over 80% of India’s population and about 92% of the data market potential in the country. This truly represents a very exciting opportunity for MTS.”

SSTL has already invested over US$2.2 bn in India. An investment of about Rs. 1.5bn has been earmarked for UP East and UP West circles. According to Arvind Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, UP East and UP West Circles, “The launch of MTS services will provide mobile customers in UP East and UP West Circles access to our nationally successful ½ paisa per second tariff plan or 1 paisa per second + 25% extra value on core Talk time with every recharge. This is bound to result in huge savings for the customers. Additionally, our customers would get to experience world class telecom services backed by seamless connectivity on a congestion free network.