VimpelCom relaunched Beeline with the current characteristic black-and-yellow striped circle in 2005 with a campaign to associate the brand with the principles of brightness, friendliness, effectiveness, simplicity, and positive emotions; with a new slogan "Живи на яркой стороне" (Live on the vibrant side).

The rebranding campaign was hugely successful and the principles associated with the brand "captured hearts and minds", in the words of the company.

The deal has been surrounded by a controversy involving two major shareholders of VimpelCom: the Russian Alfa Group and Telenor, the incumbent Norwegian telecommunications company.

[8] VimpelCom also has a 49.9% stake in Euroset, the largest mobile retailer in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

In 2004, PJSC VimpelCom, in its first move outside Russia's territory, acquired Kazakhstani cellular operator KaR-Tel (brand names K-Mobile and Excess).

[12][13] On 16 November 2006, PJSC VimpelCom acquired the 90% share of Armentel CJSC (renamed to VEON Armenia in 2017), held by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) for €341.9 million.

URS obtained a GSM-900 license in 1997, but Motorola backed off the venture the same year due to an alleged government favoritism to another mobile operator.

The Korean Daewoo picked up the ownership, altough it didn't do much to grow the business, and eventually sold it to a Ukrainian financial group in 2003.

The deal was surrounded by a controversy involving two major shareholders of VimpelCom: the Russian Alfa Group and Telenor, a Norwegian telecom conglomerate.

However, in 2012, after three years of business losses, Beeline withdrew from the joint venture and the Vietnamese market in general.