AC&M: Russia’s mobile subscriber base loses 0.3% in 2018

MOSCOW, Mar 27 (PRIME) -- The number of mobile subscribers in Russia, calculated by the number of SIM cards, shrank 0.3% in 2018 to 255.710 million users, research and consulting company Advanced Communications and Media (AC&M) said in a report seen by PRIME on Wednesday.

SIM card penetration remained flat at 179% in 2018.

Below is a breakdown of subscriber bases of leading mobile operators, as provided by AC&M:

Company	Subscriber base as of December 31, 2017, mln users	Subscriber base as of December 31, 2018, mln users
MTS	78.300	78.010
MegaFon	75.445	75.200
VimpelCom (Beeline)	58.160	55.253
T2 RTK Holding (Tele2)	41.160	44.050
-including Tele2 MVNO subscribers	1.000	1.750

The mobile subscriber base in Moscow increased to 46.284 million clients in 2018 from 45.881 million in 2017, and the penetration rate climbed 2 percentage points to 249%.

The number of mobile subscribers in St. Petersburg contracted to 16.350 million in 2018 from 16.451 million in 2017. The penetration rate edged down 1 percentage point to 248%.

On a nationwide basis, MTS had 31% of the market as of the end of 2018, while MegaFon had 29%, VimpelCom controlled 22%, and T2 RTK Holding’s share amounted to 17%.

T2 RTK Holding accounted for 92% of net additions in 2018.

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