al to result in lower prices for mobile broadband as carriers will not have to charge high prices to cover upgrade costs. The four carriers operating as MVNOs and Yota will essentially share these costs. High-capacity network services, if they're priced affordably, have the potential to benefit the economy by giving more people access to tools needed to conduct business electronically. The Russian government is also using the carriers' agreement to build an LTE network as a way to stimulate its mobile equipment manufacturing industry. Some spectrum allocations have included provisions that Russian firms participate in the build-out of the LTE network. Russian Technologies State Corporation, which owns 25 percent of Yota, has stated plans to manufacture 4G phones. The Russian government is also negotiating agreements for joint ventures with foreign manufacturers such Huawei and Samsung for the new network build-out. Nokia Siemens has signed a joint venture agreement with a Russian company to produce LTE equipment. It's not clear if these combined agreements will be successful. These joint ven- tures might create delays in the build-out as manufacturers attempt to cooperate with one another. If the efforts to create a new network and make mobile Internet access as well as new services affordable are successful, the large Russian population and investors will both partake in wide-ranging benefits. It will also create opportunities for small carriers to offer services over infrastructure that they most likely do not have the resources to build on their own. Mobile Carriers Worldwide Table 8-7 Mobile Providers in the Russian Federation Carrier Brand Name Ownership Notes Russian conglomerate Has grown by purchas- Sistema, 54% ing mobile, fixed-line, broadband, and cable TV providers. MegaFon MegaFon Russia's Telecom Hold- Only carrier with spec- ings, 33.1%; Finnish/ trum licenses for all of Swedish's TeleSonera, Russia. 43.8%; Russia's Alfa Group, 23.1% Vimpelcom Beeline Russian company Alfa Fifth largest carrier Grou