13 December 2011

Russian mobile phone retailers Svyaznoy and Euroset have submitted investment proposals to Russian national operator Rostelecom, Prime Tass reports. The companies have not yet entered negotiations but Rostelcom is reportedly interested in acquiring a stake in the mobile retail chains, in line with its plans to outsource 20% of its retail business to a subsidiary and transfer the rest to a partner.

Meanwhile, Svyaznoy has launched a pilot project with Rostelecom. It is offering IPTV and fixed broadband services in over 200 Svyaznoy outlets in the Kirov, Nizhniy-Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Samara and Saratov regions as well as in the republics of Mordovia, Chuvashia and Udmurtias, Telecompaper reports. The trial will run until the end of December and if successful, the services will be rolled out to the rest of the Svyaznoy estate.