MTS grows pay TV base

Russian quad-play service provider MTS ended 2011 with 2.99 million pay TV subscribers, up 9% year-on-year, thanks to a combination of factors including expansion of its fixed-line network, mergers and acquisitions and the redefinition of subscribers in newly acquired companies.

The fourth quarter saw MTS acquire Tatarstan cable operator TVT for US$162.9 million (€124 million). Including collective access systems, MTS estimates it serves about 3.25 million pay TV customers in total.