No matter if you are a Russian citizen or a tourist you will be using your mobile phone once you are here. And there might be a situation once you need port your number from one network provider to another. It will be useful for you to read until the end if you are going to use mobile communication in Russia. Continue reading
Tag Archives: GSM
GSM operators in the UK.
Hello everyone,
Today, I’d like to share my experience with a GSM operator in the United Kingdom. You can find information about the major operators on this page.
Since my arrival in the UK in 2002, I have experimented with all the available networks in the market. It was astonishing to discover the subpar GSM signal quality in a country that is a member of the G8. I’m not referring to the service or pricing; rather, I’m focusing on signal and sound quality, which leaves much to be desired. To be clear, I’ve changed addresses 26 times in various locations across the UK over the span of 11 years, and I can speak from firsthand experience.
Even in London, there are areas where none of the operators can provide service, such as certain places in Sydenham Hill, Herne Hill, and Crystal Palace.
When traveling on the major “M” motorway, there’s no guarantee that you can seek help via your GSM mobile in case of an emergency.
I embarked on a quest to uncover the reasons behind this issue, and I believe I’ve found the answer. Health and safety regulations compel providers to limit the signal level to 32 dB. Naturally, this dramatically reduces the coverage distance of the antennas. A proper macro antenna should stand at 30 meters in height and provide at least 50 dB of signal strength. In reality, major antennas in large cities are macro cell antennas with signal strengths ranging from 5 to 10 dB.
If you want to check what signal coverage is available in your area in the UK, I recommend visiting this website.
Best of luck, and may you enjoy a reliable signal.
(actual on 2009-2012).
BeeLine GSM
Beeline is the trademark of the second largest cell-phone operator in Russian Federation, VimpelCom. Its headquarters are located in Moscow.
As of January 2005 Beeline has more than 25 million subscribers in 74 of 89 Russian regions, and in Kazakhstan, and less than 1% market share short of becoming the leader of the Russian cellular market in terms of subscriber base. Its revenue, profits and revenue per subscriber (ARPU) figures are slightly lower that competitor’s, Mobile TeleSystems’s, while being gradually improving in latest years.
MTS – Russia
Mobile TeleSystems or MTS is the largest mobile operator in Russia and CIS with over 89.64 million subscribers as of April 30, 2008.
Having started in the Moscow license zone in 1994, МТS in 1997 received licenses for further areas, and began expansion, later entering other countries of the CIS. On October 31 2008, Vodafone announced a partnership deal with MTS, whereby Vodafone services will be available to MTS subscribers; some form of co-branding will follow, and both companies have noted the potential for more efficient purchasing.
The MTS wireless network operates using the GSM standard. It currently holds licences to provide mobile services in 87 out of 89 regions in Russia and the entire territories of Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.MTS is currently the biggest mobile operator in Central and Eastern Europe.
Megafon
MegaFon (previously known as North-West GSM) is the third largest mobile phone operators in Russia.It works in the GSM and UMTS standard. Its main competitors are Bee Line GSM and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS).
The name "MegaFon" in Russian looks exactly like a word for a megaphone; other connotations are mega- as "big" and fon as "telephone". Its headquarters are located in Moscow.
In 2002 the company changed its name from North-West GSM to MegaFon when it acquired several regional companies, becoming the first GSM company in Russia to cover all its territory.
As of February 2007, MegaFon had 30,657,864 subscribers.