MTS and VimpelCom signed a memorandum to build joint 4G infrastructure, Kommersant reported Monday, citing a source in one of the companies.
According to the agreement, the two companies will lay 4,500 kilometers of fiber-optic lines by the end of 2012 and share existing communications infrastructure.
"The benefits [of the agreement] are obvious: The network will be built faster, costs will be reduced, and the range and quality of services will be improved," MTS spokeswoman Valeria Kuzmenko said. MTS and VimpelCom have invested a combined $20 billion in infrastructure and are poised to invest another $2 billion in 4G networks, VTB Capital analyst Viktor Klimovich said.
(MT)
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