Almost two months after its launch in Moscow, mobile operator Tele2 has attracted 1 million subscribers, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Friday, citing an unidentified source close to the company.
Tele2, which was already present in more than 60 Russian regions, started operating in Moscow on Oct.22. It became the fourth mobile provider servicing the Moscow market, dominated by mobile operators MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom, which operates the Beeline brand.
In the first week after its launch, Tele2 managed to attract 150,000 customers. By the start of December, the number of Tele2's clients had increased to 816,000, the source close to the company's shareholders told Vedomosti.
Tele2 representatives are very happy with the results of the company's activity in Moscow and said the numbers were better than expected, the newspaper reported.
Tele2 has opened 500 stores in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as selling SIM cards via its partners, including cell phone retailers such as Euroset and Svyaznoi.
In Moscow, the mobile provider is offering 4 tariffs, which are 20 to 50 percent lower than those offered by the other three operators, according to the Interfax news agency. Tele2 has launched only 3G and 4G networks in Moscow, which means it can only be available to smartphone users.
According to market consultancy AC&M, MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom were providing service to 41.2 million customers in Russia's capital and the Moscow region as of the third quarter of the year, Interfax reported. Therefore, Tele2 currently accounts for 2.43 percent of the market.
Analysts predicted earlier this year that Tele2 can attract up to 20 percent of Moscow's mobile subscribers within the next three years.
