Mobile TeleSystems Snapshot
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) gets its rubles from Russians who need to keep in touch wherever they go. MTS is a leading digital mobile phone service provider serving more than 80 million subscribers, primarily in Russia. MTS, which exclusively uses the GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard, has acquired more than a dozen mobile operators since 1998 to expand its reach across Russia and into Belarus, Armenia, Turkmenistan, the Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Major shareholders include financial-industrial holding company JFSC Sistema (about 54%), which formed the company with Deutsche Telekom in 1993.
