Cellhire’s partnership with MegaFon means that only domestic MegaFon customers and international customers of Cellhire will have access to mobile data and 4G in Sochi.
Subscribers to other mobile operators connecting to the MegaFon network will only be able to use voice services and SMS-messages while data services, including 4G, will be available only to MegaFon customers.
Mobile Data services in Sochi will not be available to subscribers of other mobile operators who manually choose the MegaFon network on their mobile devices during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said Tigran Poghosyan, the head of the Sochi 2014 project.
According to Mr. Poghosyan, voice services and SMS-messages will be available to the subscribers of other mobile operators who will connect to the MegaFon network, while data transmission services, including 4G, will be available only to MegaFon subscribers.
Digit.ru previously reported that MegaFon and Rostelecom signed a sponsorship contract with the Olympic Games in Sochi back in 2009, for a cost of 130 million dollars each. The operators have also invested another $100 million in the infrastructure of the region.
As of December 2012, MegaFon has opened up its infrastructure in Sochi to other operators that require coverage at the Winter Games. In order to connect to the MegaFon network, users will need to manually select the MegaFon network on their mobile device, or purchase MegaFon SIM-card.
The head of the Sochi 2014 project pointed out that other network operators present in Sochi signed an inter-operator agreement, which insures that while using the MegaFon network, subscribers of another operator will be charged prices consistent with their tariff plan.
Currently the Sochi Branch of MegaFon comprises 685 standard 2G/3G base stations, about 270 4G base stations and 15 movable mobile stations. The number of MegaFon subscribers in the region amounts to more than 300,000 people.
For more information on Cellhire’s Sochi offers, click here.
