Russia’s third Groupe Special Mobile-based cellular network was officially launched in Nizhny Novgorod in the spring. It will be operated by Nizhegorodskaya Sotovaya Sviaz, an equity joint venture of the local public network operator GPSI Sviazinform and US West Inc’s subsidiary Russian Telecommunications Development Corp. The project is valued at $8m. The network consists of six base stations and can handle up to 5,000 users. Since its commercial launch on May 15, the system has so far attracted 60 subscribers. In an interview with Commersant-Daily, US West’s subsidiary claimed that the system would run at full capacity by the end of this year. But this sounds over ambitious, considering that the Russian Personal Communications Systems, the rival DAMPS network in the region, has attracted just 500 customers in its first 18 months.
