KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers has approved an action plan to deploy LTE (4G), a standard for wireless communications of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals, in Ukraine, under which a 4G tender is to be called in December 2017.
This is stipulated in Cabinet resolution No.1232 dated November 11, 2015.
Under the resolution, technical specifications for a feasibility study for the introduction of 4G in Ukraine should be approved by the end of the current year. What is more, a foreign consulting agency is to be hired to conduct that study. The consulting agency will be selected by local telecoms market operators. An agreement with the agency is to be concluded this December.
The feasibility study is scheduled to last December 2015 through November 2016. Then the Cabinet will work to prepare respective legislation to introduce such 4G-related notions as “refarming” and “technology neutrality.” Transparent and fair allocation and use of Ukraine’s radio frequency resource should be also ensured legislatively (in February 2017, according to the approved schedule). After that, the National Table of Radio Frequencies and the Plan of Radio Frequencies Use should be amended correspondingly.
From November 2015 to June 2017, a plan of measures should be approved and implemented to make frequencies in the 790-862 MHz bandwidth, now used by radio broadcasting (television) services, available for the deployment of LTE technology. In June 2017, frequencies in the 694-790 MHz bandwidth shall be made available and measures shall be taken to ensure electromagnetic compatibility and joint operation of radio electronic means of special users and general users of LTE.
In December 2017, the government plans to conduct refarming (to reallocate the frequencies) and the introduce technology neutrality on the basis of 3GPP specifications.
The final plan will be considered completed when a 4G tender is to be called in December 2017, which will provide “telecoms market subjects with a competitive right to use radio frequency for LTE technology, including packages within different bands, and determine the winners that have met all the conditions and offered the highest bid for a corresponding band.”
