The number of Ukrainian mobile phone subscribers rose 354,000 on the month in July, with most of the new users joining Russia's OAO Vimpel Communications (VIP) and Turkcell-controlled (TKC) Astelit, consultants Advanced Communications & Media said Wednesday.

At the end of the month, there were 55.2 million active SIM cards in Ukraine, and penetration, or the number of SIM cars per 100 people, rose to 119.9% from 119.1% at the end of June.

VimpelCom the country's fourth-largest operator grew its subscriber base by 122,000 to 2.06 million users.

Astelit, which has won a fifth of the Ukrainian market with agressive price cuts, added 140,00 new users

Kyivstar, controlled by Norway's Telenor ASA (TELN), and Russia's OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) are the two largest operators in Ukraine. Recently, they have focused on retaining long-standing subscribers, rather than winning new ones.

Company Web site: www.www.acm-consulting.com

-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 974 80 55; william.bland@dowjones.com