WIND Telecomunicazioni, a fully owned subsidiary of VimpelCom, has been awarded spectrum in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz frequency bands following the LTE spectrum auction in Italy. WIND won two FDD blocks (5x5 MHz paired each) of spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency band and four FDD (5x5 MHz paired each) blocks in the 2.6 GHz band for a total amount of EUR1.12 billion.

WIND Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. (“WIND” or “the Company”) announces that it has successfully bid for and been awarded spectrum in the 800MHz and 2600MHz frequencies following the completion of the competitive spectrum auction initiated by the Italian government on August 29, 2011.

In detail WIND has been awarded two blocks FDD (5+5 MHZ paired each) of spectrum in the 800MHz frequency range and four FDD (5+5 MHz paired) blocks in the 2,600MHz frequency range for a total consideration of €1,120 million. WIND will be required to pay an amount of approximately €682 million within 30 days from the completion of the auction while the remaining amount of approximately €438 million will be payable over five yearly instalments.

The first spectrum payment will be funded by a combination of cash on hand and draw down under a €600 million bridge loan facility available to WIND and provided by a group of leading international banks.

The spectrum awarded to WIND will enable the Company to successfully deploy and launch LTE/4G telecommunication services in the coming years. The combination of the acquired 800 MHz and 2,600 MHz blocks will allow Wind to exploit the LTE technology to the maximum performance as well as provide the service with high quality indoor coverage. The 2,600MHz spectrum will be available immediately whereas the 800MHz spectrum will be available for use by the awardees at the beginning of 2013 and both will have a validity until 2029.

About VimpelCom Ltd.

VimpelCom is one of the world’s largest integrated telecommunications services operators offering a wide range of wireless, fixed, and broadband services in Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic and Canada. VimpelCom’s operations around the globe cover territory with a total population of approximately 868 million people. VimpelCom provides services under the "Beeline", "Kyivstar", "djuice", “Wind”, "Infostrada" “Mobilink”, “Leo”, “banglalink”, “Telecel”, and “Djezzy” brands. As of March 31, 2011 VimpelCom had pro forma 186 million mobile subscribers. VimpelCom is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (VIP). For more information visit: www.vimpelcom.com