13 April 2010, Moscow. COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading operator of integrated telecom services in Russia and the CIS, announces establishment of project Centre for development of innovative technologies and services. Centre will be engaged in search and implementation of advanced solutions and new services into COMSTAR.

Centre is entrusted with a task to investigate IT and telecommunication market in the world and Russia from innovative technologies, goods and services forthcoming point of view. COMSTAR experts will conduct thorough examination of perspective solutions and put proposals on its implementation out for consideration by the management of the Company. In case if such goods or services will effectively influence the development of the Operator, allow it to differ from other telecommunication market players and will be popular among subscribers, then they will be adopted for implementation in COMSTAR-UTS Group. Later on Centre will coordinate implementation of all the innovative solutions in COMSTAR. Centre plans actively cooperate with vendors research divisions and scientific labs of different R&D, and also CJSC Intellect-Telecom. At present Centre includes employees of different COMSTAR-UTS divisions and is headed by COMSTAR-UTS Moscow regional branch director Dmitry Dronov widely experienced at telecommunication business development.

«Today only innovations allow telecommunication operator to advance effectively and be step ahead of competitors. The world of technologies doesn’t stand still, and we shall move forward together with it, shall use all the opportunities for progressive development. And that’s why a decision was made on establishment of Centre for development of innovative technologies and services in COMSTAR-UTS in order to investigate actual market trends, detect potentially interesting ideas and to improve efficiency of new technologies and services implementation in Group of companies. Centre will adopt them for Russian subscriber and prepare for launch», - said OJSC COMSTAR-UTS President Sergey Pridantsev.

Beside innovative Centre there’s also another regular consultative collegial body in COMSTAR-UTS – Scientific and Technical Council. It generates joint scientific-technical policy of COMSTAR-UTS Group. The council coordinates technological development plans and own innovative developments focused on network modernization, Group of companies telecommunication infrastructure upgrade, broadening of range and improvement of quality of provided services.

At this time COMSTAR-UTS develops major innovative project on its subsidiary MGTS network digitalization based on IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystems) architecture. Owing to new technology it will be possible to provide not only the services of digital telephony, BBA Internet-access and TV, but also other new services, which opportunities of provision will be investigated among other issues by Centre for development of innovative technologies and services.