RUSSIAN OPERATORS LEVERAGING CDMA TO OFFER COMPETITIVE ADVANCED WIRELESS SERVICES

Operators Opting for Faster, More Cost-Effective CDMA450 Wireless Technology

MOSCOW — April 17, 2008 — The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that CDMA450 is rapidly becoming a preferred technology for Russian operators to offer competitive advanced wireless services. There are 37 operators that have deployed or are planning to deploy CDMA2000^® in the 450 MHz frequency band throughout the Russian Federation. CDMA450 enables operators to offer competitive and highly-reliable wireless telephone and broadband services to their customers in both densely-populated urban centers and sparsely-populated rural markets. This state-of-the art and proven wireless technology is bridging the digital divide across the Russian Federation.

“CDMA2000 continues to gain momentum across Russia, as operators further invest in their 3G wireless services within the 450 MHz band,” said Perry LaForge, executive director of CDG. “With CDMA450, operators can provide affordable advanced mobile broadband services across very large coverage areas, including DSL replacement, VoIP, push-to-talk (PTT), video surveillance and location-based services.”

Russia is a promising growth area for CDMA450, which is penetrating the region as operators seek to migrate to faster and more cost-effective advanced wireless broadband services. SkyLink, the largest CDMA service provider in Russia, operates most of the country’s CDMA450 networks, providing 3G telecommunications services to 31 regions. In support of its plan to become a nationwide CDMA2000 operator, SkyLink is currently licensed to offer mobile services in 65 of Russia's 88 regions, encompassing 104 million people, or 72 percent of Russia' total population.

"CDMA2000 has proven to be an excellent platform to effectively deliver rich multimedia content, high-speed Internet access and high-quality voice traffic to both enterprises and consumers," said Gulnara Khasyanova, chief executive officer of SkyLink. "CDMA’s industry-leading network capacity enables us to economically deliver significant volumes of voice and data services to our target market of heavy-user customers, and its network flexibility allows us to deliver these services in a fixed wireless and mobile environment, regardless of the topography. The business case for CDMA2000 is successful in highly-populated cities like Moscow as well as smaller rural communities in other regions of Russia."

The success of CDMA2000 in Russia has also led to the expansion of the 3G technology into other international emerging markets. For example, Sistema, a conglomerate which owns the largest mobile operator in Russia, will invest $5 billion USD over the next three years in the rapidly growing Indian market, which includes expanding the Shyam-Sistema CDMA2000 network across the country. The resulting world-class telecom network, coupled with the widespread availability of affordable CDMA2000 mobile handsets, will better position Shyam-Sistema to tap into both the lucrative high-end broadband and entry-level markets.

CDMA450 is the most mature and widespread solution for economically providing mobile and fixed telecommunications services to both urban and underserved rural markets. CDMA450 offers carrier-grade telephony, broadband Internet and multimedia access across very large coverage areas, which enables lower deployment and operating costs, or total cost of ownership (TCO). To provide equivalent coverage in rural areas, CDMA450 uses 70-75 percent fewer base stations required by GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA in the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz frequency bands, respectively. With a lower total cost of ownership and availability of ultra low-cost 3G handsets (below US$35 wholesale), CDMA enables lower tariffs and greater profitability.

CDMA450 also offers industry leading network capacity for voice communications and high-speed broadband data services. For example, UralWestcom, the first Russian operator to launch an EV-DO Rev. A network in March 2008, is offering average download speeds of 600-1400 kbps with bursts up to 3.1 Mbps and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps with bursts up to 1.8 Mbps. For consumers, this means quicker Internet connections and faster Web browsing, including two-way file transfers and multimedia messaging, while businesses can instantaneously send and receive email and access their VPN services while on the go. The technology also provides a future-proof network allowing operators to migrate to multi-carrier EV-DO Rev. B or interoperate with wider bandwidth OFDM-based solutions such as LTE, to offer substantially higher data speeds in densely populated urban hot zones.

Following is a list of Russian operators offering CDMA2000 services in the 450 MHz band. The chart may be downloaded on the CDG Web site at http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/index.asp?h_area=2&h_country=11&h_technology=999.

More information on CDMA is available at www.cdg.org.

About CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is the most widely deployed 3G technology, with 255 operators in 99 countries, including 91 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO systems, serving more than 418 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne™ subscribers, there are more than 431 million CDMA users worldwide. CDMA2000 has become the technology of choice for developed and emerging market operators, and is deployable in the 450, 700, 800, 1700, 1900, AWS and 2100 MHz bands. More than 1,950 CDMA2000 devices from over 110 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 500 1xEV-DO and 48 Rev. A devices. More information on CDMA2000 is available on the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.

About CDG
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA2000 technologies. The more than 130 member companies of the CDG include many of the world’s largest wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of CDMA2000 features and services, public relations, education and seminars, regulatory affairs and international support. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG subcommittees on CDMA2000-related matters. For more information about the CDG, contact the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030, or visit the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.

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Note to editors
cdmaOne is a registered trademark of the CDMA Development Group. CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.