Wind Mobile Canada Emerges From Strongest Year Ever

Parent Company VimpelCom Releases Fourth Quarterly Results

TORONTO, March 6, 2013 /CNW/ - VimpelCom Ltd (NYSE: VIP) owned Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E ("Orascom"), WIND Mobile's parent company, shared its 2012 fourth quarter results today. The results show strong growth for WIND Mobile in Canada including a substantial increase in its subscriber base and expanding its distribution footprint to include 335 branded point-of-sale locations across the country.

"It was a banner year for us - our strategy to develop our postpaid customer base is clearly working," said Pietro Cordova, Chief Operating Officer of WIND Mobile. "We are excited to continue to perform successfully in 2013 as we work hard towards our goal of consolidating Wind Mobile as the only real alternative to incumbents for Canadians"

"2013 is going to be an exciting year for the Canadian telecommunication market in general and for Wind Mobile in particular," said Cordova. "We are continuing to improve our network across the country and are focused on delivering the best value for money proposition in the Country"

Highlights from the Fourth Quarter report include:

• In Canada, Wind Mobile grew its subscriber base by 47% YoY 
• During 4Q12, WIND Mobile continued to strongly deliver on its "Value Plus" strategy adding primarily postpaid subscribers while carefully managing prepaid economics for both voice and mobile broadband customers.
• WIND Mobile added 79,954 subscribers during the fourth quarter increasing its active subscriber base to 590,438. It should be highlighted that more than 70% of gross additions during the quarter were postpaid customers.
• On the commercial front, WIND Mobile enjoyed a strong holiday season. A new media campaign and promotional offers were launched to support the important selling season.
• With respect to handsets, the strength of the Samsung Galaxy SIII continued throughout the quarter. In addition, the company continued to add to its high-end Android devices with the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, the LG Optimus 4x, the SONY Xperia ION and the Huawei D-Quad.
• In addition, the company maintained its focus on expanding its network and launched Peterborough and Windsor in 4Q12, increasing population coverage to exceed 14 million, alongside continuous network quality improvements and increased sites on air to 1,300 sites.
• WIND Mobile grew its distribution footprint and branded points-of-sale to reach 335 by end of 2012.

WIND Mobile is supported by shareholder Orascom Telecommunications, controlled by Amsterdam-based VimpelCom Group, a global company with over 210 million customers.

To review the report in its entirety, go to http://www.orascomtelecom.com/files/financial/989477140_Orascom%20Telecom%20Earnings%20Release%204Q12.pdf

About WIND Mobile
WIND Mobile is dedicated to improving the Canadian wireless experience by offering customers simple and transparent plans, including real unlimited voice/data/text with no-term contracts and no hidden fees. Committed to becoming the country's fourth national carrier, WIND has more than 590,000 happy customers in Canada and is a part of Amsterdam-based VIMPELCOM Ltd., a global company with over 210 million customers. Learn more about WIND Mobile at www.windmobile.ca.

SOURCE: WIND Mobile

Alexandra Maxwell
Public Relations and Social Media Specialist, WIND Mobile
[email protected]
416-557-5709