As the largest country on the planet, Russian telecom networks are made up of ~42,100 towers and ~75,000 rooftops across its populated regions, most of which remain operator-captive. In a fiercely competitive MNO landscape with relatively few shared sites, only Russian Towers, Vertical and a couple of other smaller towercos are steadily creating an independent towerco market in the country. That may all be about to change. Each of Russia’s three leading MNOs has carved out their own towerco: VimpelCom has created ‘National Tower Company’ which they intend to sell and leaseback the towers if their valuation can be met, Megafon has carved out ‘First Tower Company’ with a view to a future sale to a strategic buyer, while MTS has injected 5,500 towers into ‘MTS Towers.’
Russia and CIS FAQs (updated May 2016)
