The largest Russian mobile operator has concluded an extremely profitable agreement with Google Corporation, having traded for itself a part of the revenue received by Google Play from the Russian market.
Under the terms of the agreement, which Vedomosti became aware of, MTS will put on all its branded smartphones (the number of devices sold under the MTS brand in 2011 amounted to 1.1 million) the widget of the Google app store. For this, the operator will receive 25% of Google’s revenue from MTS smartphone users.
In other words, if the lucky owner of an advanced MTS device downloads something for money from Google Play, 25% of this amount will go into the pocket of the operator. However, Vedomosti did not specify whether this agreement will apply to in-game purchases.
MTS will also receive its showcase on Google Play, where it will be able to promote original applications.
Experts with Roem.ru they consider the deal a success, because the company “will not have to mess with its app store launched a year ago and try to compete with Google Play.”
Megafon and Vimpelcom are also trying to establish ties with Google. Only if Megafon is interested in cooperation similar to that concluded by MTS, then the bees from Beeline want to introduce operator billing: the ability to pay for the application not with a bank card, but from a mobile account. So Vimpelcom will earn both on commission from payments and on Internet traffic.
As for Google Play itself, its revenues in Russia in the next three years will amount to 1.5-2 billion rubles.