VimpelCom migrates nationwide subscriber base onto Amdocs billing and customer care platform
20 Jan 2004

MOSCOW, Russia, and ST. LOUIS, MO - January 20, 2004 - Open Joint Stock Company "Vimpel-Communications" ("VimpelCom") (NYSE: VIP), a leading provider of telecommunications services in Russia, and Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the world's leading provider of billing and CRM for true, integrated customer management, today announced that VimpelCom has successfully completed a migration program of more than 2.5 million customers onto its Amdocs billing and customer care platform.

With this migration, VimpelCom is leveraging the Amdocs platform to provide centralized, convergent voice and data support for more than 10 million prepaid and postpaid customers across 52 regions of VimpelCom's nationwide operations. The Amdocs platform was initially rolled out in 2002 to support VimpelCom's Moscow-based customers. This most recent step in VimpelCom's national rollout strategy is expected to drive significant operational advantages and outstanding customer service.

"Amdocs is providing us with an extremely powerful and scaleable platform to enable maximum control over our growing number of operations, and support our established leadership in service quality and product innovation," said Jere Calmes, Vice President of Customer Operations and Product Management at VimpelCom. "The Amdocs platform also provides us with the carrier-grade capabilities and functionality critical for cost efficient and rapid expansion while enabling differentiating offerings to the local cellular marketplace."

The consolidation of its billing and customer care operations onto the Amdocs platform has enabled VimpelCom to improve its billing performance, eliminating roaming settlements between regions and allowing for faster bill delivery and an increase in revenue collection. It has also lowered operational costs through the consolidation of data centers, IT workforce, contact centers, development efforts and financial reports. Additionally, the Amdocs platform enables unified service and sales handling across markets, as well the ability to launch national marketing initiatives, products and services while supporting regional differences. The Amdocs platform also supports the Russian language for enhanced customer service and satisfaction.

"We are pleased to play an instrumental role in VimpelCom's rapid growth, helping it build on its established success in Moscow in order to effectively capitalize on the enormous potential in the Russian cellular marketplace," said Michael Matthews, Chief Marketing Officer, at Amdocs. "By consolidating its multiple regional operations onto the central Amdocs platform, VimpelCom is creating a stronger nationwide brand, identified with service excellence, reliability and product innovation."

VimpelCom

Altimo, a leading private equity group, operating on some of the world's most desirable and potentially lucrative mobile telecommunications markets, was created in 2005 from Alfa Telecom, which itself was established in 2004 to hold the telecoms investments of the Alfa Group Consortium (Golden Telecom, Inc., Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Kyivstar GSM, MegaFon, VimpelCom, Sky Mobile). Those assets are in Russia, the CIS and other promising emerging markets.

VimpelCom consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia, in territories with a total population of about 340 million. The Group companies provide services under the "Beeline" brand.  VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (under the symbol "VIP").  In Q1 2008, VimpelCom acquired 100% of the oustanding share capital of Golden Telecom, a leading facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services in Russia and the CIS.

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