Sistema said Tuesday that it plans to consolidate control of the Glonass satellite navigation project as it seeks to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning System.
“The development of the Glonass project and the commercialization of its services are among the top state priorities,” the company said. “Sistema’s board of directors has decided to consolidate the project under one corporation, which will take its operating business to a whole new level.”
Sistema plans to acquire 51 percent of Navigation Information Systems, operator of Glonass, for as much as 484 million rubles ($16 million) from its units Sitronics and RTI Systems, the company said.
Russia plans to require cell phone producers to provide handsets compliant with Glonass, Sistema’s owner Yevgeny Yevtushenkov said in July.
(Bloomberg)