Support The Moscow Times!

Virgin Launches Mobile Virtual Network Operator in Russia

Richard Branson / William Murphy / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The closest thing Britain has to an oligarch entered the Russian market with a telecoms venture this week. Richard Branson's Virgin Group launched a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), in Russia on Nov. 27.

MNVO Virgin will use network capacities of T2 RTK Holding, which runs the mobile phone operator Tele2, the upstart fourth mobile phone service provider in the Russian capital, the Vedomosti business daily has reported.

Few details are available at this point, except that MVNO Virgin will initially only be available in a test mode.

Virgin has been present in Russia's telecom industry since 2007 as an investor in the local company Trivon, which provides fixed-line, IP telephony and pay-TV services under Virgin Connect brand. The new deal to create MVNO Virgin represents a significant expansion of the firm’s business in Russia.

The exact makeup of Trivon shareholders or the company's financial data has not been revealed.

Meanwhile, Russia's MVNOs market — mobile virtual network operators, providing mobile phone services using capacities of larger operators — remains relatively small. It is set to reach 6.8 million subscribers by the end of 2017, which would be less than 2 percent of all mobile phone users.

MVNOs have mostly attracted customers dissatisfied with their traditional mobile phone service providers and people arriving in other cities on short visits.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more