In Russia's landline services, the most important participant is the state monopolist Svyazinvest, presently going through a major reorganization. This company is a result of the Soviet national telecommunication monopoly, and even now, it holds the controlling share of the Russian telecommunication market.
In the early 1990s, the Soviet Communications Bureau (Ministry) discontinued most of its telephone ventures, keeping only its regulatory operations. Yet, the ministry did not leave the market entirely and kept its prevailing share in Svyazinvest. Svyazinvest manages 82 of the Russia's 87 local telephone operators and holds a minority share in the remaining five. It owns more than 90 percent of the Russia's local landline infrastructure. However, Soviet Union left Svyazinvest with more of its telephone infrastructure than it could manage and Svyazinvest began leasing a part of it to other companies. Some of these telephone service operators grabbed the opportunity to grow and some even became strong competitors to Svyazinvest. Analysts say that, presently, Svyazinvest holds 60 percent of the landline telecommunication market, and independents own 40 percent.
Long-distance services in Russia are offered mainly the same way as local services. This is also connected to Svyazinvest restructuring, as experts say. This is in part due to the fact that Svyazinvest has a controlling share in Rostelecom, Russia's long-distance monopolist.
Mobile Networks in Russia
There are three main mobile network companies in Russia: BeeLine, Megafon, and MTS. The services, prices, and coverage provided by these companies are rather alike. Mainly they offer voice and text services. The networks cover most cities and rural regions in European part of Russia. They cover main Siberian cities, as well. There are some areas, like small villages, that have no coverage at all. They are so-called ?blank spots.?
In addition, a number of local operators provide services in local networks. They do not generally offer national services, and phone calls outside their networks are very expensive. For instance, the local operator BaikalWestCom (Irkuts) offers service only in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. To call via their network to Moscow would be very expensive. When travelling in Russia, using mobile phone services is a good idea, since it is usually much cheaper than calling from a hotel room.
How to call Russia from another country
The country code for Russia is ?7.? Thus, when you use phone services in another country to call Russia, do not forget to dial ?7? before dialing the code of the city you are calling to and the phone number you want to reach.
Landline services in Singapore
As with fixed lines in other parts of Asia, there are only two companies that provide landline telephone service in Singapore. Singapore Telecommunications or Singtel is the pioneer phone company. During the 1990s, its competitor StarHub entered the picture. Before even calling Singtel, you should have the following documents at your disposal? the completed application, Singapore employment pass, passport,and proof of residency. There are several charges associated with land line service. The installation fee is $53.50 singapore dollars. The fee for outgoing calls including local calls is fifteen Singapore cents per minute during peek hours. Peek hours are from Monday-Friday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The outgoing rate from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM is 0.75 Singapore dollars per minute. This also applies to local calls. The The annual subscription costs 107 Singapore dollars. This can be paid on the installment plan in which payment is made once per quarter. Last but certainly not least, if the consumer holds a student pass or employment pass, there will be an additional two hundred (200) dollar deposit.
By contrast, StarHub offers a TV, Internet, and telephone package. There is a minimum six-month contract. The consumer must purchase a piece of equipment called the Voice enabled Cable Modem or VCM in order for the service to work. This modem costs about two hundred dollars. The activation fee is forty-two dollars. The installation fee should it be necessary for a technician to install the modem is fifty-three dollars. A monthly subscription fee of eleven dollars applies. If the applicant is foreign, a two hundred dollar fee will apply.
Mobile services in Singapore
Incoming calls are free in Singapore. A prepaid Sim card is available as well. Major Sim card providers in the country are M1 and Singtel. The mobile number that comes with the Sim card will last six months. The card can even be reloaded from overseas. The Sim card will include SMS, voice mail,. Caller ID, call transfer, and more. This service costs about fifteen dollars. Singtel charges 0.28 cents per minute and 0.14 cents from 9:00 PM to 9:00 aM. M1 offers $0.291 cents for the first minute, 0.19 cents for the second minute, and 0.10 cents for every additional minute.
Calling Singapore from Abroad
To call Singapore from the US, dial 011 followed by the country code 65.
This article has discussed profiled fixed line services, and mobile services in Singapore.
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