Svyazinvest's main goal in the acquisition is NT's last mile infrastructure in Moscow. Rostelecom already has this infrastructure across practically the whole country, the capital city remaining until now the only exception. In Moscow the market is saturated and competition in internet access provision is becoming very tough. Moscow top players include alternative telco Vimpelcom, NetByNet, and MTS, as well as cable TV player Akado.

NT launched internet service back in 2005, but until now hasn't gained any significant market share; its telephony services, which launched in 2009, attracted even fewer subscribers. Nonetheless, with the NT's last mile infrastructure, Svyazinvest will now be able to offer its services to all NT's cable TV subscribers, bundling TV with telephony and internet, and marketing digital TV service.

Since 2007 NT has been modernising the old-fashioned cable TV network of its Moscow-based operator, Mostelecom. Due to the financial crisis, however, completion of the network upgrade has been delayed from the initial deadline of 2009 and is only now being completed. The upgrade has improved the value of Mostelekom assets to about $290 per RGU. When recently MTC bought regional cable TV operator Multinex, the price per RGU was at $140.

Svyazinvest is in the process of a restructure that will merge all of its telephony and pay TV companies into one unit to be re-branded Rostelecom. In total, Rostelecom has about 500,000 cable TV subscribers, about 50,000 digital terrestrial homes (in the Mordovya region). The company is also developing IPTV. NT is its first successful acquisition: last year;s attempt to buy a 10 per cent stake in a satellite TV operator, Orion-Express, has so far been unsuccessful.