The Russian handset market was again robust in 2005. While growth slowed compared to 2004, shipments still climbed a vigorous 19% to just over 32 mln units. The GSM standard accounted for more than 99% of handset purchases, with replacement buying and steady promotion of mid- and upscale models pushing GSM shipment value up by almost 21% to $5.15 bln. However, the market is slowing rapidly as the growth rate in subscriber net additions to mobile operators falls, and IDC believes that the 2006 mobile phone market may end up smaller than that in 2005.