MegaFon

MegaFon, previously known as North-West GSM, is the second largest mobile phone operator and the third largest telecom operator in Russia. It works in the GSM, UMTS and LTE standard. The company serves 62.1 million subscribers in Russia and 1.6 million in Tajikistan. It is headquartered in Moscow. In 2002 the company changed its name from North-West GSM to MegaFon when it acquired several regional companies, becoming the first GSM company in Russia to cover all its territory. The name "MegaFon" in Russian is spelled and pronounced exactly like the Russian word for megaphone; other connotations are mega- as "big" and fon as "telephone". History June 17, 1993, was the registration date of NorthWest GSM CJSC (Saint Petersburg). Alexander Malyshev became the first General Director. The major international investors included Scandinavian companies Sonera (Finland), Telia International AB (Sweden) and Telenor Invest AS (Norway). Telecommunication equipment was supplied by Nokia. 1994 – launch of commercial operation of GSM (2G) network, the first in Russia.