MTS India champions mobile surfing by partnering with Opera Software
New Delhi, India – October 19, 2010
Opera Software and MTS, the mobile telephony services brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), have signed an agreement that would enable MTS customers to download Opera Mini on a range of mobile phone models from leading handset manufacturers such as Samsung, ZTE, Haier, Huawei, Micromax and Hisense.
Opera Mini is the world’s most popular browser used by more than 71 million people on more than 3000 mobile phone models. According to analysts, one out of four mobile browser users use Opera Mini to surf webpages (source: StatCounter).
“MTS is committed to provide a world-class voice and data experience to all its customers. Our latest agreement with Opera Software further strengthens this resolve. The move to provide the facility of downloading Opera Mini software on a range of mobile handsets is bound to significantly enhance the browsing experience of customers on the MTS network,” adds Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, SSTL. Opera Mini offers many of the features from the Opera desktop browser, empowering users with a desktop-like web-browsing experience from their mobile phones. Server-side compression technology reduces data consumption by up to 90 percent and provides Opera Mini users with significantly faster page loading.
“With around a 350 percent increase in the unique-user growth over the past year and it being home to the third-largest number of Opera Mini users globally, India has proven to be one of our fastest growing markets. Additionally, we already partner with MTS in other countries such as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. It was a natural progression for us to extend our relationship into emerging markets such as India,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.
Earlier this year, MTS Russia announced a co-branded version of the Opera Mini browser for its subscribers. Subscribers receive access to a customized Opera Mini start page when they downloaded the browser on their mobile phones. The start page with default bookmarks gives quick and easy access to music, videos and games, as well as the opportunity to purchase content directly from the browser. For more information visit: http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2010/02/15_3/
Download
MTS users can directly download Opera Mini Browser by browsing through MY MTS Zone on their * handsets. The access path being MY MTS → Mobile Shop → Opera Mini Browser.
*Opera Mini Browser can be downloaded based on handset compatibility.
About Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd.
Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL) is a joint venture between Sistema {LSE: SSA} of Russia and the Shyam Group of India. Sistema is the majority shareholder in this joint venture with a 74% equity stake; the Shyam Group holds a 23.5% stake and the remaining 2.5% is publicly held. SSTL has been allocated spectrum to provide mobile telephony services in all the 22 circles across the country.
MTS is well recognized in India and worldwide for its commitment to high quality and innovative telecom solutions. MTS has recently been ranked by Millward Brown as 72nd out of the top 100 brands in the world. In a short span of time, MTS has secured 7 million subscribers in the telecom circles of Kolkata, West Bengal & Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chennai & Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar & Jharkhand, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Delhi & NCR, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. MBlaze, the data service of MTS, offered in 84 towns of India, has over 2.5 lakh subscribers so far since its launch in November 2010. MTS has more than 100 million subscribers across the world.
For more information visit: http://www.mtsindia.in